


Exposed Perspective

by arc852, HiddenDreamer67



Series: Perspective Series [5]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series), The Borrowers - All Media Types
Genre: Borrowers - Freeform, G/T, Giant/Tiny, TINY - Freeform, borrower, borrower!patton, borrower!virgil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-30
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2020-07-27 13:28:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 31,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20046796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arc852/pseuds/arc852, https://archiveofourown.org/users/HiddenDreamer67/pseuds/HiddenDreamer67
Summary: This story is a direct sequel to "Switched Perspective", the last in the "Third Perspective" Trilogy; without that context, this story will make a lot less sense. This is also the fifth work in our series of Perspective-themed Gt Sanders Sides Novels.Everyone is slowly readjusting back to their old sizes, but it's hard when the borrowers are now feeling so exposed out in the open. It certainly doesn't help that a certain Professor Dee keeps sticking his nose where it doesn't belong, setting everyone on edge and making it hard to find that elusive happy ending.





	1. Chapter 1

“Here you go.” There was a thud as Logan set the cage down on the desk, a blanket overtop it to hide its contents. Dee stood up, looming over it eagerly.

“Excellent.” Dr. Dee smirked, ripping the blanket off. He peered inside, ready to see the tiny people. The fairy creatures that had avoided him for so long… But instead, he found himself frowning down at an empty cage.

“What is this?” The professor snarled, turning to glare at Logan. The student looked unfazed. “I specifically asked for its contents as well.”

“I am aware.” Logan said coolly.

“Mr. Sanders, now is not the time for your attitude.” Dee spat. “As head of this department, it is my duty to oversee all experimentation regarding live subjects.”

“I am aware.” Logan repeated. 

“So where are your subjects?” Dee questioned him.

“I assure you sir, they are right there.” Logan pointed to the empty cage.

“Mr. Sanders-”

“There were never any specimens in that cage.” Logan kept a straight face through his lie. “When you asked for the contents, all you requested was an empty cage.” He gave the professor a stiff smile. “I am sorry if I have disappointed you in some way.” 

The two stared at each other for a few minutes, Logan trying to keep his unaffected demeanor going despite the fact the dean seemed determined to burn a hole into his skull with his death glare.

“Get out of my office.” Dee growled. That was all it took. With a quick nod, Logan practically bolted out of there. 

Logan gave a sigh of relief, walking down the hall. Now more than ever he was grateful he hadn’t turned in Virgil to that man. What a horrifying ordeal that would have been. Logan shuddered, remembering when he himself had been small enough to fit in that cage. Even though he knew Dr. Dee personally, Logan could only imagine that should he have found himself in Dee’s clutches Logan would have earned a similar terrifying fate. 

Regardless, none of that mattered now. The borrowers were not in the professor’s clutches, and instead were waiting safely at home. 

**————————————————-**

Virgil was currently alone. Logan was off returning the cage and Roman and Patton were off in their own places. So Virgil had decided it would be a good opportunity to stock up on some things for his home. His home that still needed to be fixed, but Roman said he would swing by later to see what he could do. 

It had been a week since the four had woken up in their beds at their normal sizes. It had been a little…awkward, at least on Virgil’s end at first, and a bit scary. But both borrowers had kept their promise to stay. Virgil had even hung out with Roman, right alongside Patton. It had been…nice.

Virgil and Logan’s relationship on the other hand was…tense. They were acting civil towards each other though and at the very least, Logan didn’t seem mad at Virgil for what he had done. At least, he didn’t express it. 

So, things were going…well…at least Virgil wasn’t dead.

Right now, Virgil found himself on the kitchen counter, stuffing a few crackers that Logan had left out into his bag. 

Logan knocked softly on the front door, waiting a moment just in case the borrower was on the other side. Slowly he creaked it open, looking around.

“Virgil?” Logan called out, closing the door behind him.

Virgil stopped and tensed, before forcing himself to relax. He wasn’t used to this, having Logan knowing about him. He felt so_ exposed,_out here in the open. Oh geez and what would Logan say about Virgil borrowing from him? Should he even answer the human? Maybe Virgil could just slip away…

Before the borrower could do so, Logan stepped into the kitchen. His eyes landed on his smaller roommate. The two shared a brief moment of silence.

“…oh.” Logan noted the crackers in front of Virgil. “I was going to make some dinner.”

“I’m not hungry.” Virgil said, wincing as he didn’t even believe his own lie. He was taking crackers for heaven’s sake. He just wanted to leave, still not completely comfortable with Logan. He didn’t know if he would ever be.

“…That’s fine.” Logan looked away, not wanting Virgil to feel put on the spot. Instead he busied himself with pulling out ingredients. “I’m glad you found the crackers.”

Virgil looked away. “Yeah…” This was starting to get awkward for Virgil, so he coughed to clear his throat. “I’m, uh, gonna get going now…” Virgil turned to leave.

_Please don’t go._ Logan paused, mentally thinking of all the things he wished to say to Virgil. _I’m sorry I’ve treated you so horribly. I don’t want you to live in fear anymore. This is your house as much as mine. Stay for dinner and you can have whatever you want. _

“Okay.” Logan spoke aloud, returning to his task almost mechanically. “I won’t force you to stay.”

Virgil nodded and left without another word. He sighed in relief when he was back inside the walls. How were they ever gonna make this work?

**————————————**

Patton bit his lip nervously as he sat at the edge of the counter, kicking his legs back and forth, half watching Roman making dinner. Thomas was coming over to eat with them and Patton was…nervous to say the least. Thomas had been with his family for a week now and Patton had yet to see him since turning back to normal. And yeah, he had had a great time with Thomas when he was human sized, but he had no idea what to expect now that he was a borrower again. “What time did Thomas say he was coming?” He asked Roman, turning to him fully.

“As soon as his class finished up he was heading over.” Roman glanced at the clock while he continued to stir the spaghetti sauce. “So in about 10 minutes, I’d say.”

“O-Oh, cool.” Patton knew from experience that ten minutes wasn’t that long. Thomas would be here in no time. But it would be fine. Thomas was a good human and Roman was there too. He had nothing to worry about.

Roman paused his stirring briefly, looking down at the borrower. “Patton, are you alright?”

“Huh?” Patton met Roman’s eyes before turning away. “Um, yeah, I’m good. Everything’s fine.”

“Patton, it’s okay if you’re nervous.” Roman gave him an encouraging smile. He remembered what it was like to feel surrounded by humans when he was small. 

Patton smiled back at him. “Okay, yeah, I’m…a little nervous. It’s just, this is the first time I’ll see Thomas as…me.” Patton said, looking down at his true borrower form.

“I get it.” Roman nodded. “But if it helps, Thomas was always very understanding when I was a borrower. Not to mention the fact that he’s over the moon to meet you for realsies, he’s been texting me all day.”

That both helped calm Patton down and made him more nervous. Somehow. An excited human could be a dangerous one, but he would take Roman’s word on how understanding Thomas was. After all, he had seen it himself when he was human sized. “Thanks, Ro.”

“Besides, I’ll keep an eye out for ya, Pat.” Roman gently nudged the borrower’s shoulder with his knuckle. “And if for some reason it becomes too much, I’ll just ask Thomas to leave.”

Patton flinched slightly at the contact, but otherwise didn’t react to it. He smiled up at Roman. “Okay.”

There was a few quick knocks at the door, before Thomas’ voice could be heard on the other side. “Anybody home?”

Roman set his stirring utensil to the side, wiping his hands on a towel before going to answer the door. “Thomas! come on in. Dinner’s nearly ready.”

“Ooh, what’s cooking?” Thomas took a deep breath in to catch the pleasant aroma.

“Spaghetti.” Roman smiled, leading the way into the kitchen.

Patton took in a deep breath when he heard Thomas and stood up. When Thomas entered the kitchen, he waved. “H-Hey Thomas.”

Thomas’ eyes widened, landing on the borrowers form. “…Hey, Patton.” Thomas gave almost a shy wave, looking almost giddy. 

Roman chuckled. It was almost hard to tell who was more nervous. He began gathering up the food, putting it onto plates.

“How was class?” Patton asked Thomas, remembering that’s where Thomas had just come from.

“Oh, it was fine.” Thomas had hardly paid any attention, so focused on this very dinner that his mind kept wandering.

“Dinner is served.” Roman called out, balancing the plates as he brought them over to the table. 

Thomas looked briefly back and forth between the table and Patton, not sure if it was his place to say, but… “Patton, would you like a hand?”

“O-Oh!” Patton blinked at the offer, thinking for a moment. He could trust Thomas, it was fine. “Yeah, that would be great.”

As Thomas put his hand down next to Patton, Roman came over to hover and watch in case something went wrong.

After a few moments of hesitation, Patton climbed onto Thomas’ palm. He settled down in the middle before giving Thomas a thumbs up.

Thomas turned around, only to find Roman standing right in front of him.

Roman’s intense gaze quickly morphed into a smile. “Be our guest!” Roman quoted Disney as he led both his friends to the table. 

Thomas returned the smile, sitting down at one of the chairs with spaghetti in front of it. He set Patton down on the table next to a smaller plate that had been prepped for the borrower.

Patton nodded in thanks to Thomas, the ride not having been that bad. He then turned his attention to the spaghetti. “Oh, wow! This looks really good Roman!” He exclaimed, turning to said human.

“This tastes really good, Roman!” Thomas said through a mouthful, having already dug in.

“Why thank you.” Roman looked pleased with himself, starting in on his own pasta. Of course, he still glanced at Patton, worried the borrower wouldn’t like it.

Patton took a piece of the noodle, ignoring how the sauce got all over him, and blew on it before taking a bite. His eyes lit up. “This is _so _good!” He took another bite, sauce getting all over his face…and clothes.

Roman snorted into his own pasta, trying to hide it with a napkin.

“Uh, glad you like it Patton!” Thomas was hiding a grin of his own, already prepping a napkin for Patton.

Patton took another noodle and another bite. Oblivious to what Thomas and Roman found so funny. And oblivious to how much sauce he was getting on himself, too focused on eating the delicious food.

“Patton, you’ve got a little something on, uh…” Roman gestured pretty much everywhere. Of course, this only caused Thomas to let out an audible chuckle disguised as a cough.

Patton blinked at Roman, before looking down at himself. He blushed in slight embarrassment when he realized how messy he had gotten. “Whoops.” He put down his half-eaten noodle and started to try and shake the sauce off. 

“Here.” Thomas said gently, holding out the napkin.

Patton took the napkin, looking sheepish. “Thank you.” He did his best to use the corner of the napkin to get most of the sauce off. His clothes would need a good washing though when he got back home.

“No problem.” Thomas smiled down at the borrower, before pushing his own empty plate forwards. “So, what now?”

“Well, we could watch a movie?” Roman suggested, looking to Patton for his approval. “Your pick of course, Patton.”

“Oh! Really? Well, uh…” Patton thought for a minutes, trying to remember what that movie he had been watching before was called. “I think it was called Tinkerbell? The movie I was watching before, when ah…you know.” Patton said, wincing a little at the memory. Everything was fine now, of course, but the past were still hard to think about.

“Tinkerbell it is.” Roman nodded, trying to remember which one Patton had been on when he…Roman cringed, remembering when he first caught Patton.

“I love Tinkerbell!” Thomas was oblivious to their discomfort, standing up and putting his hand next to Patton. “Which one?”

“Secret of the Wings.” Roman answered, the film finally coming to mind.

“I’m excited to finally finish it!” Patton said, trying to push the memories away. He climbed onto the offered hand with little to no hesitation this time. It was getting easier, which Patton was happy about.

Thomas walked over, taking Patton to the living room. He set Patton down on the coffee table, then began setting up the movie.

Roman, meanwhile, was working on scrubbing dishes. He washed them all, being careful with patton’s saucer. Though it was still large for the borrower, it was the smallest Roman had, and he didn’t want to break it.

Finally satisfied, Roman dried off his hands and joined the others in the living room, seeing the movie had already started.

Patton sat criss-cross on the coffee table, transfixed on the movie already. He was glad he didn’t have to worry about human’s coming up and grabbing him anymore. He looked behind him and gave the two humans a smile before turning back to the movie. He was perfectly safe.

“Does anyone want popcorn?” Roman asked. Thomas gave a nod, so Roman retreated back into the kitchen.

Patton glanced behind him to see Roman go, before turning back to the screen.

Soon the human returned, a big bowl of popcorn in hand. He set it down on the couch, between himself and Thomas. Roman was going to offer Patton a seat, but Thomas beat him to it.

“Hey Patton, want to come up here?” Thomas asked, putting his hand down next to the borrower.

Patton turned around, noticing the offered hand. “Sure!” He climbed on.

Roman watched as Patton was placed up onto Thomas’ shoulder, trying not to feel jealous as Thomas gave him a few popcorn pieces to munch on adorably.

_It’s just a movie, calm down._ Roman scolded himself, grabbing some popcorn for himself and turning his attention back to the screen.


	2. Poor Adaptations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan and Virgil are adapting...ish

Virgil quickly realized he had forgotten a good number of things on his list when Logan had come home. So, he decided to go out. He went through the exit that was placed under the couch and listened for a moment. He couldn’t hear anything, nor did he see anything either. So, he assumed he was safe and walked out from underneath the couch.

Logan froze, sitting cross-legged on the couch as he watched Virgil appear from underneath him. It seemed the borrower hadn’t even noticed him, as Logan had been quietly reading for the past several minutes. 

“…Good evening?” Logan said finally, thinking it best to alert Virgil of his presence.

Virgil jumped, startled at the sudden voice and without so much as looking for where Logan was, darted back under the couch. His heart raced a mile a minute as he took a second to calm himself underneath the piece of furniture.

Logan winced at Virgil’s reaction. “My apologies, I did not intend to startle you.”

Virgil took in a deep breath. “It’s…It’s fine!” Virgil carefully walked back out, taking several steps out before turning to see that Logan had been _on_ the couch this whole time. Huh. “What are you…doing?” He decided to ask for some reason.

“Reading an academic paper on circadian rhythms.” Logan held up the stack of papers briefly as a visual. “What about yourself?”

“I just, ah…” Again, Virgil was not used to a human knowing about his borrowing. “I…forgot a few things earlier. I was just headed to go and get them.”

“Oh.” Logan set his papers to the side. “Would you like any assistance?”

“No!” Virgil yelled, before biting his lip. “I mean, uh, no thanks. I can-I can handle it.” Virgil gripped his bag tight. Maybe he should have waited for later at night.

Logan immediately froze at Virgil’s yell, trying not to look hurt. “I meant no offense.” Logan clarified. “I know you’re capable, I just…thought to offer in case you wanted me to grab anything.”

“Yeah, well, thanks, but I’m good.” Virgil walked away but kept Logan in his peripheral. He made his way to Logan’s bedroom and threw his hook up to start climbing. He kept his hook where it was and headed over to Logan’s pencils. He broke off some lead, putting it in his bag, before taking a few paper clips as well. Satisfied with his quick grab, he turned back to get back down.

He started to climb down when he heard a weird…tearing noise. Eyes going wide, he looked up to see the string was an inch away from snapping off. Reacting quick, Virgil grabbed the string above the broken part, just as it gave out and fell to the ground. Now Virgil found himself hanging, several feet in the air. He tried to climb back up, but he slipped with a loud yelp and was now hanging on with one hand. At the sound of another tearing noise, he snapped his head up to see the last bit of string was about to break. _Oh no_.

At the sound of a yell from the other room, Logan dashed into the bedroom. He glanced around for a moment, eyes scanning for the borrower.

“Virgil!” Logan’s eyes widened, rushing over to cup his hands under the borrower lest he should fall. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine! I can-!” Whatever Virgil was going to say was interrupted as the string broke and he fell. Landing a few inches below onto Logan’s _hand_. As soon as Virgil gained his bearings, he started to shake. 

This was the first time in a few days he had been in Logan’s hands. And here he was, stealing Logan’s things. There was no way Logan would be happy about that.

Logan ever so slowly lifted his hands, keeping himself as steady as possible and trying to ignore the way Virgil shook. “Virgil, what happened?”

“Nothing-Nothing, I just, m-my string…” He looked off the side of Logan’s hand, looking down at the two pieces of broken string below. He winced. That could have been him, broken down there if not for Logan catching him.

Even still, he did not want to be in Logan’s hands. “Can you-can you put me down, please?”

“Of course.” Although also looking at the string, Logan realized something. “Ah…do you have another string?”

Virgil thought back to what he had in his room. “Uh…no, I don’t.” Great, he thought he was more prepared than this.

“I see.” Logan winced. He moved Virgil over to one hand, grabbing Virgil’s hook out of the desk in the other. A tiny shard of string still dangled from it, though otherwise, it was useless for now. This he handed to Virgil. “Unfortunately I do not possess any string, although I can certainly make a run to the store tomorrow.” At this hour, the craft store was bound to be closed. In a town as small as this, the nightlife was next to nonexistent. Not that Logan cared for that sort of thing.

“Great,” Virgil muttered, shifting in the hand a little. “Alright. Just…put me down on the ground and I’ll come back for the string tomorrow.” Virgil said, just wanting to get out of there at this point. Though he was a bit annoyed he would not be able to complete his borrowing list tonight.

“Alright.” Logan lowered himself to the ground, putting his palms down to let Virgil depart. “Although, if you still need to get any…borrowings for the night, I can assist you.”

Virgil got off Logan’s hand, walking towards his nearest exit. He stopped just short of entering the walls. “Goodnight.” He said, before practically running in. 

“…okay.” Logan got up, heading back to the couch. He tried to turn his attention back to the academic paper, but his mind was elsewhere. Instead, Logan pulled up his phone, looking to see what was the closest store that would sell string and how early it would open. 

***

Patton grinned as the credits rolled, stretching his arms. He was still on Thomas’ shoulder, butter residue on his hands. “That was awesome!” He was so glad he finally got to see the movie in its entirety. 

“Yeah, let’s watch another one!” Thomas began reaching for the remote.

“Ah, actually, better not.” Roman stopped Thomas, grabbing up the remote himself instead. 

“What?” Thomas frowned. “But you love all night Disney-athons.”

“Not tonight.” Roman gave a theatrical yawn. “We have to be up early for class tomorrow!” Indeed, both humans had class early in the morning the next day.

“Oh, alright.” Thomas begrudgingly put a hand out for Patton to climb on.

Patton pouted but slid onto Thomas’ hand. He then had an idea. “Oh! Can I go to class too?” He asked.

“Of course!” Both humans spoke at the same time, looking at each other in surprise.

“I have history, what do you have?” Thomas asked.

“…math,” Roman muttered, knowing his was the more boring option.

“History sounds interesting!” Patton exclaimed, turning to look at Thomas. “Can I go with you tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I can come pick you up in the morning.” Thomas agreed, setting down Patton on the coffee table. 

“Well, sounds like a plan!” Roman clapped his hands together, trying to remain cheerful. “But that’s quite early in the morning, so you’d best get home and get some rest.” 

“Okay, see you tomorrow Patton!” Thomas waved happily at Patton, allowing Roman to escort him out the door.

Patton waved back until the door shut. “Wow, Thomas is _so_ nice!” Patton knew that already, but he was glad to actually see it while he was his normal size.

“Mhm.” Roman nodded a bit, agreeing. “So, should we get ready for bed as well?”

“Yep!” Patton said, before yawning.

Roman put his hand down for Patton to climb on. “Do you want to sleep in my room tonight?” He asked hopefully.

Patton did so and thought for a moment. “That’s okay. I’m just going to sleep in my own bed tonight. But thank you anyway, Roman.” Patton said with a smile.

“You’re welcome.” Roman smiled softly, bringing Patton into the bedroom and setting him on the floor near the wall exit. The wall exit Roman himself had once used. “And just so you know, that offer stands anytime. If you ever feel like sleeping out here, I mean. No pressure.”

“I know! Goodnight Roman!” Patton waved at the human before disappearing into the walls.

“…goodnight.” Roman waved back, before getting ready for bed himself and going to sleep. 

***

“Good morning!” Patton called out as soon as he exited the walls. He saw Roman, already dressed and putting his things together. “Is Thomas here yet?”

“No, not yet,” Roman answered, finishing packing his bag. “Hey, why do you want to go to class, anyways?”

Patton shrugged. “I don’t know…it seems kind of interesting, at least some classes do, but I mostly wanted to spend more time with you guys!”

There was a knocking at the door. 

“Oh, that must be him.” Roman set his palm down for Patton. “You sure you don’t want to go to calc II with me?” Roman asked, only half-teasing.

Patton laughed as he climbed on. “Sorry, Ro. Maybe next time.”

Roman lifted his palm, going over and opening the front door.

“Morning, Pat!” Thomas greeted, spotting the borrower in Roman’s hands before looking up at Roman himself. “Morning, Ro!”

“Morning, Thomas!” Patton greeted back with a large grin. He was very excited to be going to class.

“Come on in.” Roman greeted, holding the door open.

“Oh, uh, actually I’m running a little late,” Thomas said sheepishly. “I don’t have time to stay, I just came to get Patton.”

“…oh.” Roman held out Patton, watching the borrower climb from his hand to Thomas’.

“Bye Roman! We’ll see you later!” Patton said, waving at Roman after settling down on Thomas’ hand.

“Bye, Patton. Thomas.” Roman waved goodbye to his friends, heading into the kitchen to eat breakfast alone. Again.

***

Virgil was starting to get hungry and with Logan out at the store to get him some string, he decided to freestyle up the counter to get some food. It was more dangerous this way but Virgil was confident in his climbing abilities. He made his way onto the counter and grabbed one of the crackers that were still out, taking a bite.

“There you are.”

“Ah!” Virgil dropped his cracker and whipped around, seeing Logan standing there with a shopping bag in hand. He placed a hand on his heart and wondered how the heck he hadn’t noticed him before.

Logan gave what sounded like a tired sigh, shuffling through his bag briefly. “Here.” He pulled out a large spool of thread, setting it down next to Virgil on the counter. “It’s the sturdiest I could find.”

Virgil glanced at Logan and then the string before going towards it. He took out his hook and used it to cut off a good length of it. He then backed up a bit and started to tie it together, glancing up at Logan every other second to keep an eye on him.

Logan leaned back against the cabinets opposite the counter, crossing his arms subconsciously as he felt Virgil’s suspicious gaze on him again.

“Virgil,” Logan spoke up, knowing he had to say something eventually, “if I still make you anxious, why do you come out in the open?”

Virgil tensed, pausing in his knot tying. “B-Because I made a promise,” Virgil spoke softly, not looking at Logan. He had made a lot of promises.

“Virgil, you are under no obligation to reveal yourself,” Logan explained, not meeting Virgil’s eye. “If you wish to stay hidden so horribly you should just go.”

“But I am,” Virgil spoke, eyes widening at his own words. But he kept going. “What if I leave and the witches count that as me breaking my promise and then we _switch_ again. I-I _can’t_ be a human again. I would just mess everything up even more!” Virgil sighed.

“Besides…would you really just let me go?”

“_Yes!_” Logan sounded exasperated, looking back at Virgil. “Virgil, of course, I would let you go. I could not make that more abundantly clear. And I sincerely doubt that your departure would cause the witches to return because the foundation of their efforts seemed to rest on improving our relations and living in these close quarters only seems to be hindering our own.”

Virgil flinched at the yell, finally looking up at Logan. “I…guess you have a point there.” Virgil bit his lip and looked down again. His knot was still halfway done but he couldn’t bring himself to finish it. Not yet.

“I just…I don’t know what to do. This is _weird_. Having a human knowing about me while I try to borrow like normal.” Virgil sighed. “Not to mention that human being one who used to think of me as nothing more than a test subject.”

Logan tried to imagine if he were still trapped as a borrower and forced to live with Virgil. He shuddered slightly at the thought, but that was also affected by Logan’s fear of living as a borrower. One day had been enough trouble. He didn’t know how Virgil and Patton managed their entire lives.

“I understand this arrangement is…odd,” Logan admitted. “But I think a large part of the issue is the fact that you keep trying to live a ‘normal’ borrower life despite the fact none of this is normal. Why don’t you let me help you?”

“Because I don’t need help!” Virgil suddenly yelled, glaring at Logan. “I am perfectly fine doing things on my _own_. I-I don’t-I don’t _need_ help.”

“I _know_ you don’t need help, Virgil.” Logan huffed irritably. “But I am trying to do the decent thing here. If we’re supposed to be co-existing it’s foolish for you to waste all your time, energy, and resources to gather materials all the time. Not to mention it would make things a lot easier on _my_ end if you would just learn to communicate for once so I don’t continually have to walk on eggshells in my own home.”

Virgil grit his teeth. “Well, if you think it’s such a _waste_ of my time to do the things I was born to do and _need_ to do to feel _some_ sort of independency then maybe you should just lock me back in that cage!” Virgil took several steps forward practically looking straight up at Logan. He held his arms out. “Go on! I’m all-I’m all _yours_.” 

Despite his bravery in speaking out and stepping forward, he was shaking like a poor leaf. What had he just gone and done?

“…Virgil.” Logan groaned, rubbing at his face beneath his glasses. “Virgil, I’m…” Logan took a minute to collect himself, taking a few deep breaths. Why did his chest feel so tight? Why did Logan struggle so much to find the right words?

“I’m not going to do that, Virgil,” Logan said in a softer tone. “And I’m sorry. I wasn’t aware of how essential the process of borrowing is to you.”

Virgil put his arms down, wrapping them around himself instead and taking a step back. He had half thought that Logan would actually…He shook the thought away. “…It is. Now more than ever.” Virgil didn’t want to feel like a pet. Having everything handed to him and doing nothing for himself. Even if not having to borrow was…nice. 

“Maybe I should just go…then you wouldn’t have to walk on eggshells the entire time,” Virgil said, repeating Logan’s words.

“Virgil, that’s not what I meant.” Logan didn’t truly want to drive the borrower away. “I don’t mind being more aware of my surroundings or cautious with my movements, frankly that’s part of my nature. What I do find frustrating is our interactions, simply because I always seem to do something…wrong.” Logan let out a sigh. “I don’t know what to do, I’ve tried everything, and I don’t even know what I’ve done incorrectly because you won’t talk to me. You just jump at my presence and then make a hasty retreat.”

Virgil was feeling like making a hasty retreat right now but knew, deep down, that they _did_ need to talk about this.

And also, his hook still lay unfinished behind him, so really he was stuck up here.

“…You haven’t done anything wrong.” Virgil admitted with a sigh. “It’s…It’s all on _me_. I’m still just so _freaking_ scared that it’s…it’s hard to be around you…” Virgil deflated hugging himself tighter.

Logan looked at Virgil. It was hard to remember that the self-deprecating borrower before him had once towered over Logan, however briefly. In a fleeting thought, Logan wished they could return to those sizes if only so Virgil would no longer fear him. After all, Logan was out of other ideas.

“I want to reassure you that I’m not going to harm you,” Logan explained. “No cages, no experiments, no lies. I swear it.”

“I…know,” Virgil spoke, surprised to find he actually kind of believed that. “And yeah, half the fear is from…you but the other half is…whenever I’m around you, I remember what I _did_ when I was a human and I-” Virgil shook his head and turned away from Logan.

“Well, I’m certainly not going to do those things either.” Logan frowned.

“I know, I mean, I hope you won’t.” Virgil shook his head again. “But it scares me to think that I almost…_killed_ you. That I was such an awful human. And I’m reminded of that whenever I’m near you…”

“You weren’t an awful human.” Logan corrected. “You were a frightened and angry borrower thrust into a human’s body. The entire situation was confusing for us all, and surely it affected your cognitive abilities. I’m certain that if you were born human your actions would have been far less…” 

_Logan shuddered, and he was back to dangling over the edge of the building as Virgil’s giant face smirked above him. Though Logan clawed desperately to hang on, he felt the grip of Virgil’s fingers slipping. Logan gasped, feeling himself drop and the wind rush past him…_

…but then Logan was thrust back into the present, where he had ended up on the floor.

Virgil’s eyes widened as he suddenly saw Logan drop to the ground. He rushed over to the edge, looking down at the human. “L-Logan!? Are you okay?”

Now it was Logan’s turn to flinch, but as Virgil’s voice did not boom like it did in Logan’s nightmares he knew this was reality. 

“I’m…fine.” Logan groaned, sitting up and leaning his head against the wooden cabinets. He tilted his head back to look up at the borrower, choosing to stay on the floor while his heart rate began to even out.

Virgil frowned and deflated, realizing what must have happened. “…I should go.” He had truly messed up and Logan’s reaction had put it in perspective how much. He backed away from the edge and towards his string and hook to finish assembling it.

“No!” Logan tried to stand up, but the room swayed so he stayed on his knees instead. At least this way he was on eye level with Virgil once more. “Virgil, please, it’s not your fault. That just…happens. Sometimes. More often at night, but occasionally it…can overwhelm me in the daytime.”

Virgil winced, quickly finishing up the knot. “How is that _not_ my fault? None of that would be happening to you if I hadn’t done what I did.” 

“Well, you would not have done any of the things _you_ did if I hadn’t screwed everything up so poorly in the first place.” Logan grabbed the edge of the counter to steady himself, leaning forwards. “And at this point assigning blame will get us nowhere. What’s done is done.”

Virgil paused. “I…guess.” They had both made mistakes after all. “But I still think I should go. Not permanently, just…for a little bit. Clear my head. Give you some space…”

“…okay.” Logan’s shoulders sagged. “If that’s really what you think is best, you can leave. Just don’t leave on my account, I’ll be alright.”

Virgil nodded and went through the motions of climbing down the counter using his new hook. Before he entered the walls he looked back towards Logan, still on the floor. “…See you later.” And with that, he left.

Logan laid his head back against the cabinets, sighing as he stared at the place where Virgil had disappeared.


	3. Getting a Little Close

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton gets a close call, and Logan and Virgil grow closer as people.

Patton leaned back against the blanket that Thomas had placed inside the bag he was earlier. It was very soft and Patton found himself enjoying the ride. He did tense when he heard Thomas enter the school, hearing all the human’s voices. But he forced himself to relax, knowing he was safe with Thomas right there.

It was difficult for Thomas to focus in history, what with the borrower in his bag. He tried his best though just in case Patton had any questions after. Finally, the period ended, and Thomas ducked into an empty classroom briefly. Looking around to be sure they were alone, Thomas opened the bag.

“What’d you think?” Thomas asked, grinning down at Patton.

Patton flinched a bit as the top of the bag opened up but quickly relaxed when he saw that it was, in fact, Thomas. He grinned up at the human. “It was so interesting! I knew humans did amazing things but I never knew to what magnitude!” 

“I know, right!” Thomas said eagerly. He was glad Patton had come on a day when the Professor didn’t just drone on and on. “I love learning about the fun parts of history.”

“It’s amazing how much you guys have kept records of.” Patton smiled sadly. “We can’t really do that has borrowers. Considering we’re all so separated and the majority of us can’t even read or write.” It would be nice to learn some history of borrowers but it just didn’t exist.

“Aww, Pat.” Thomas furrowed his eyebrows in sympathy. “Can…you read? Or write?”

“I can read but I’ve never tried to write before. I probably could though.” Patton shrugged.

“I could help you.” Thomas offered. “I’m sure we could find some writing utensils for you.”

Patton grinned. “That would be awesome! Thank you, Thomas!” Even if it wasn’t practical, he would love to be able to write. “I’m glad you turned out to be one of the nicer humans,” Patton said.

“Thanks, Pat!” Thomas smiled. “I’m glad, too.” Thomas felt a vibration in his back pocket, and he pulled out his phone to check the message he just received. “Oops, Roman’s looking for us.”

“Roman? Oh! Do we get to see him now?” Even though Patton had chosen to go with Thomas for his first class, he still hated that he didn’t get to be with Roman as well.

“If we’re not late,” Thomas said sheepishly. “We share the same bio class in the afternoon.” Thomas stuck out his tongue to show his dislike for the subject.

Patton hummed, the subject sounding boring to him. But, he didn’t really care if he got to hang out with both Thomas _and_ Roman. “Well, what are we waiting for!”

Thomas chuckled at his eagerness, heading back into the hall. He entered the biology lab, noticing that almost every seat was taken.

“You’re late.” Thomas jumped, noticing that instead of his usual professor, Dr. Dee stood at the front of the room with a frown. 

“I- ah, where’s Dr. Picani?” Thomas asked. 

“Picani is out sick,” Dee explained. “I’m substituting for him, and if you take your seat perhaps I could get back to doing just that.”

“Yes, sir.” Thomas ducked his head, heading to the back of the classroom. After a moment Thomas spotted Roman closer to the front but thought it would be best to take his seat rather than move again and anger the professor further.

Roman sighed, watching Thomas head to the back. So much for the three of them.

Patton listened out for Roman and braced himself to be taken out of the bag, when he heard the lesson start immediately, frowning, Patton poked his head out of the bag and looked around. When he saw Roman’s legs a few chairs ahead of them, he realized they weren’t sitting next to him.

Patton really should have just waited the hour and a half for the class to be over but already the lesson was boring him and he _really_ wanted to see Roman. So, he climbed out of the bag, took a deep breath, and quickly started making his way towards Roman’s legs.

He had a few close calls with some shifting feet but he managed to dodge all of them. He also kept an eye out to make sure no one was watching him. When he finally made it to Roman’s legs, he immediately started to climb up them.

Roman, who had been staring off into space, froze. He didn’t want to draw attention to what he thought could only be Patton, feeling a tugging sensation on his pant leg. Roman leaned back a minuscule amount, glancing down. He sucked in a gasp, eyes widening.

It seemed Roman wasn’t the only one who caught a glimpse of the borrower. Slowly the lecture droned off, the room filling with silence.

“…uh, teach?” Remy looked up from his phone, legs propped up on his desk.

“Quiet, millennial.” Dr. Dee hissed, eyes locked on the miniature creature currently scaling one of his students. _There_. Dee couldn’t believe it. After all this time, all his fruitless years of traps and plans, one of the tiny people had fallen right into his lap. Or rather, Roman’s lap. 

Roman looked up at the professor briefly, flinching at the malicious gaze focused on him. _Oh, this isn’t good_. Roman quickly scooped Patton up into his hands, almost tossing Patton into his bag to get the borrower out of sight.

Patton yelped as he was suddenly grabbed and thrown into a bag. He winced as he hit the ground but quickly got up to look up at the opening of the bag. He wanted to say something but knew that wouldn’t be a good idea in the now mostly silent classroom. 

The second the borrower was out of sight, Roman picked up his bag. Instantly the professor began storming over towards him, but Roman was already heading to the door.

“Young man, this lecture is not over.” Dee snarled. “Return to your seat or I will be forced to take disciplinary measures.”

“I pay tuition, I do what I want.” Roman sidestepped around the older man, holding his bag close. “Thomas, we’ll see you back home.” 

All the students turned to Thomas, who had turned an ashen gray as he realized what was going on. However, the professor still had eyes only for Roman.

“GET BACK HERE!” The dean bellowed, following him out into the hall as Roman dashed away. “If you leave this building, I’ll see to it you never set foot inside these halls again!”

Roman knew the professor was full of hot air. Or at least, he hoped he was. Regardless, there were more important matters at hand. Roman didn’t even slow down until he got to his car, setting the bag in the passenger seat. 

“What’s his problem,” Roman muttered, starting up the car.

Halfway through the professor yelling, Patton had realized who it was. And now he was thinking this was all his fault. If only he had stayed in the bag. Patton suddenly wondered if Roman was angry with him and shook at the thought. But no, he had nothing to worry about. He had to remind himself of that. Roman, despite being mad or otherwise, would never hurt him. They were friends, after all. Not to mention Roman had promised.

“I’m sorry,” Patton spoke up from the bag, deciding that Roman still deserved an apology.

Roman almost missed the quiet apology with the hum of the car engine. He took advantage of the car ride to take a few minutes to calm himself down. Roman let out a deep sigh.

“It’s alright, Patton,” Roman spoke in a calmer tone. “But I have to ask, what were you doing?”

Patton pulled himself up so he was half hanging out of the bag, now able to look up at Roman. He sighed. “I just wanted to see you…” Patton admitted sheepishly, looking down again.

Roman’s heart nearly broke at that answer, feeling briefly overwhelmed with his love for his tiny friend. “Aww, Pat…”

“And I should have known not to, especially with Dr. Dee there but I hadn’t realized it was him until he started yelling at you.” Patton sighed, shaking his head. He was just glad Roman was able to get him away before something had happened.

“Hang on.” Roman turned the engine off, having arrived at the apartments. He looked down at Patton. “How do you know professor snake eyes?”

Patton tilted his head. “Logan hasn’t told you? Dr. Dee was the professor he was going to show Virgil to but decided not to because of how creepy and dangerous he was.”

“Ugh, yeah I hate that guy.” Now Roman just had more good reasons to hate biology. He gathered up the bag, heading back up to his apartment with a lot on his mind. That had been close. _Too_ close. 

“Are you okay, Patton?” Roman asked as they got home, realizing he had never actually asked.

Patton thought it over. “I’m okay. Mostly thanks to you, of course. But I’m sorry again you had to go through that. I-I should have just stayed in Thomas’ bag…” Patton rubbed at his arm, looking away sadly.

“No, Patton, it’s alright,” Roman assured him, offering him a hand out of the bag. “You shouldn’t have to remain cooped up in there all day.”

Patton climbed onto the hand with no hesitation. “Well, I did agree to go to school with you guys. I knew what I was getting into.” 

“There must be a better way to do this, though.” Roman hummed thoughtfully to himself. “I mean, that first class must have been pretty boring just sitting there and listening.”

“Not really!” Patton said happily. “It was actually really fun, learning about human history.”

“…oh.” Roman clearly that was not the answer Roman had not been looking for. He quickly pasted a smile back on anyways. “Well, I’m glad you had at least one good experience.”

Patton nodded before hearing his stomach growl. “Maybe we should eat while we wait for Thomas to get back?” Patton suggested, holding a hand to his stomach.

“Sounds like a marvelous idea.” Roman agreed, bringing them both to the kitchen.

***

Dee could feel himself seething, standing in the classroom doorway as that impudent student disappeared around the corner. 

“You!” The dean snapped, turning around to point at Thomas who was sinking very low in his chair as if he wished to disappear. “My office, now. I’ve got some questions for you, boy.”

“Uh, you’re supposed to be teaching us?” Remy lowered his sunglasses to raise an eyebrow. 

“Class is canceled.” Dr. Dee came over, shoving Remy’s legs off the desk so that the student was sitting in the chair properly. “You were all on your phones anyways, what a waste of potential.” Though they had just been insulted, after the word ‘canceled’ the students immediately stopped paying him any attention. The classroom packed up. Thomas hurried to blend into the crowd.

“Uh, of course, I’m on my phone.” Remy stood up, looking annoyed at the professor. “What, you think a pumpkin spice is enough to cure my seasonal depression alone? Honey, Starbucks is good, but it’s not _that_ good.” 

“I would be honestly impressed if anything of substance ever came out of your mouth.” The dean glared at the leather-clad rebel giving him sass. This immediately sent Remy into another rant, making Dr. Dee’s head pound as he felt an oncoming migraine.

Noticing an opportunity, Thomas snuck out the back door of the classroom, knowing he owed Remy for his welcome distraction.

***

Logan groaned, finally home after what had been a _long_ day of classes. For some reason, the dean seemed even more tense than usual. Ever since Logan had returned the cage, Dr. Dee seemed determined to make Logan’s life a living hell. For whatever reason, today the professor seemed to have upped his antics.

Virgil sighed as he_ once again_ found himself up on the counter when Logan got home. Virgil was starting to see a pattern here and he didn’t like it. He silently packed up and started to unfurl his hook.

Though Logan saw Virgil on the counter the moment he entered the kitchen, he didn’t mention it. Instead, he began searching through the cabinets for something resembling a dinner plan. In his irritation, Logan slammed one of the doors more harshly than intended.

“Ah!” Virgil yelled at the sudden noise and paused in his retreat, cowering.

“…apologies,” Logan muttered, returning to his task with a tense sigh.

Virgil really should have just left things alone. But he didn’t. “…What’s up with you?”

“Dr. Dee decided to make his vendetta against me perfectly clear today.” Logan ranted. “He claims that if I don’t turn over my findings I will be removed from the biological college entirely, and certainly any chance I had of earning a masters degree by 22 is permanently destroyed. The dean won’t let me within a hundred yards of his precious program of elitist little-” Logan muttered the end of his rant, focusing on getting a soup can open.

“Oh.” Virgil wasn’t really sure how to react to all of that. “…You aren’t going to do that though, right? Turn me in, I mean…” Virgil had to ask because he knew that would solve all of Logan’s current problems.

“Virgil, if you ask me that again I will be forced to stuff you into this can.” Logan lifted the now empty soup can, having poured the contents into the pot. 

Virgil’s eyes widened and he took several steps back. His whole body was tense. “I-I was just making sure…” Virgil grit his teeth. “I mean, with you complaining so much…” He muttered, trailing off.

Logan glanced over at the borrower, his heart broken when he noticed Virgil’s reaction. 

“Virgil, I was attempting humor,” Logan admitted sadly, knowing jokes were not his forte. Perhaps that had been unwise. “No, I am never going to turn you in. That man’s threats are not worth your life. And if it brings you comfort, you are welcome to ask me that as many times as you wish so that I may reassure you.”

Virgil relaxed a little at Logan’s words. Though the attempt at humor was not funny whatsoever. “Okay, good-uh…good to know.” Virgil looked down at his half unfurled hook. “Guess, I’ll see you later then. I hope, ah, I hope things work out?” Virgil went to finish undoing his hook.

“We shall see.” Logan turned back to his pot, stirring it slightly. At this point, Logan could see very few positive outcomes.

Virgil made it to the ground in record time before pulling his hook back towards him. He was liking the new string Logan had gotten him. It was super sturdy and could hold a lot more weight than his last one. 

Sending one more look up at Logan, Virgil went back into the walls.

***

After that, it was a relatively normal evening for Logan. He ate his soup, did his homework, went to bed. It all felt so routine. No one would have ever guessed that Logan was aware a tiny occupant was living beneath the loose floorboard in the hallway. Logan had offered to fix it, but Virgil had responded with a resounding NO, as usual.

Logan sighed, taking off his glasses and setting them on his nightstand. Perhaps it would be better if Logan had never found Virgil in the first place.

As Logan closed his eyes, it was clear that the borrower was still on his brain. 

_“Virgil, why are we up here?” _

Logan tossed and turned, plagued by the same horrible nightmare that had been haunting him these last few nights.

_“What’s wrong Logan? Scared?”_

_Logan cried out, desperately trying to swing his legs up or reach his arms back to get a solid grasp on Virgil’s digits. It was no use, and with a jolt, Logan felt himself slowly starting to slip out of his shirt. _

_“**I trusted you**.” Virgil sneered._

_Logan felt the grasp on the back of his shirt release. His arms flailed uselessly, plummeting towards the earth back first so that Virgil’s cruel grin continued to mock him as he fell down…3 stories…4…._

Just before Logan was meant to hit the pavement he let out a startled cry, sitting up in bed. 

Virgil jumped, startled at Logan’s sudden cry. He had found himself in Logan’s room that night, wanting to borrow a few more things from the room. He looked towards the bed with furrowed brows. Biting his lip, he debated on what to do. He sighed and got out his hook to climb up the nightstand.

Logan groaned, rubbing his hands across his face. It was just a dream. Of course, there was no chance of Logan falling back asleep anytime soon. He reached for his glasses, only to spot the hook embedded in the wood. Slowly Logan grabbed his glasses, pressing them to his face and turning on the bedside light.

Virgil faltered a little as he saw Logan’s hand grab for his glasses and the light turn on but he kept going until he was at the top. He left his hook where it was, turning to look at Logan as he plunged his hands into his pockets. Logan didn’t look so great. “Um…hey.” He said a bit awkwardly.

Logan pulled his knees to his chest, resting his chin atop them and staring straight ahead into the darkness of his room. “…I apologize if I woke you.”

“No, it’s fine. I was already awake.” Virgil reassured Logan. He took a seat at the edge of the nightstand, briefly wondering what on earth he was doing there. “You…wanna talk about it?”

“Not particularly,” Logan admitted.

Virgil was silent for a moment. “…It was about me, wasn’t it?” Virgil spoke softly, looking up at Logan through his bangs.

Logan just nodded. There was silence again for a few minutes.

“Do you ever have nightmares about me?” Logan asked quietly.

“…Yeah.” Virgil admitted just as quietly. “Most have to do with the cage…others are about you…handing me over to Dee…” Virgil looked away.

Logan let out a groan, burying his head in his knees. His voice was muffled. “I’m sorry I ruined everything.”

Virgil shook his head. “I’m sorry too…I really messed everything up as a human. No wonder I was born a borrower…” Virgil chuckled humorlessly before going silent again for a brief moment. “Maybe you were right, I deserved it,” Virgil spoke softly, almost too quiet to hear.

“Falsehood.” Logan pulled his head up to look over at the borrower. “You should not say such things. It feeds into your negative emotions and causes you to falsely blame yourself.”

Virgil bit his lip. “But, your nightmares…they _are_ my fault.” 

“My nightmares are a collection of my subconscious imagination and various, fragmented memories,” Logan explained. “You are in no more control of them than I am. Therefore, they are no one’s ‘fault’.”

“…So, you don’t blame me for them?” Virgil asked, eyebrows furrowed.

“No, I don’t.” Logan shook his head. He considered Virgil for a moment. “Do you blame me for yours?”

Virgil looked down. “I did, but…not anymore. Despite my less than great attitude towards you lately, I know you’re…trying.” Virgil admitted.

Logan gave a soft, amused snort. “Thank you.”

Virgil thought for a minute. “Do you blame yourself? For my nightmares?” He asked cause he knew from experience it was easier to blame oneself than others.

“Not your nightmares, no.” Logan let out a sigh. “Just everything else.”

“Logan…” Virgil didn’t know what to say. Except…but was it true? If he said it now, would he mean it? Virgil thought over the past few days, realizing the answer.

“Logan, I forgive you.”

Logan froze, blinking slowly. His mouth felt almost like sandpaper, and Logan feared if he tried to say anything no sound would come out.

“I…truly?” Logan managed to gape like a fish.

Virgil nodded. “I’d be kind of a hypocrite to not forgive you but expect you to forgive me. But also, like I said, I…I know you’re trying. You really are and I’m _sorry_ for acting as I have to you these past few days.”

Logan let out a long sigh of relief, feeling the tension he had been carrying slowly begin to ease. There was a bit of wetness to be found in his eyes. 

“Thank you, Virgil.” Logan sat up, sitting more naturally as he turned to the borrower. “And I don’t know if it was ever properly expressed, but I want to make it clear that I forgive you as well.”

“Thanks, Logan.” Virgil smiled. “So, you heading back to bed now?”

Logan glanced around, taking it literally. “…I’m already in my bed.”

Virgil blinked before giving Logan a deadpan look but a small smile was on his face. “I meant are you going back to sleep.” 

“Ah. Yes, I should probably at least attempt to gain a little more sleep.” Logan gave a nod, hiding a yawn behind the back of his hand.

“Cool. I should probably head to bed as well. I originally came here for a few things, but I guess I could always ask you for them tomorrow.” Virgil sent Logan a knowing smile as he began to stand and stretch.

“Oh, ah, of course.” Logan sat up straighter. He tried to play it off casually, but inside Logan swelled with pride at the fact that Virgil was truly willing to trust him.

“Goodnight, Lo. Sweet dreams.” And with that, Virgil climbed down his hook and went back into the walls using the exit underneath Logan’s bed.

Logan smiled, setting his glasses back on the nightstand and turning off the light. Virgil’s words proved true, and Logan spent the rest of the night in a peaceful slumber.


	4. Bait and Switch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rodents are never fun to deal with, but a distraction is sometimes all you need to spring a trap.

Virgil had just woken up a few minutes ago and was currently organizing his food cupboard before going out for breakfast. Though, he supposed he didn’t really need to borrow for food anymore. What with him now being able to ask Logan for things.

He knew he originally told Logan he didn’t want to accept his help because he wanted to be independent and while true, it was because he had still been wary of the human. But now that they had both made up, Virgil felt more comfortable with asking Logan for help. So, this last bit of food he had would probably be the last he kept in here. He was debating on whether or not just to throw it away when he heard some footsteps.

Virgil froze. Those weren’t regular footsteps, they sounded like nails on the hardwood floor. He then heard hissing accompanying it and he snapped around just in time to see the rat coming entering his home. Virgil’s eyes widened as he backed away. He had completely forgotten about the rat. This wasn’t good.

The rat locked eyes with him and Virgil shuddered. And then, suddenly, it leaped at him. With a startled yelp, Virgil just barely jumped out of the way, the rat hitting his makeshift food shelf. The thing was knocked over but the rat got right back up again.

Virgil back away again, looking around as if something would tell him what to do. And then, the ground rumbled. Virgil’s eyes widened when he realized it was due to Logan having woken and was now walking down the hall. After dodging another rat attack, he yelled. “Logan! Help!”

“…Virgil?” Logan hurried his pace, hearing Virgil’s yell. He debated for a moment in his head before lifting the loose floorboard. His eyebrows raised at the sight before him, recognizing the same rat that had nearly killed Logan in the walls. Remembering what Virgil had done back then, Logan quickly grabbed Virgil out of the rat’s path.

Virgil yelped as he was grabbed, even if he had been expecting it. He squirmed in the loose fist as he looked down at the rat still in his home and hissed up at them. “Th-Thanks L.”

Logan tried to hiss back at the rat, but when it locked eyes with him he shuddered. Logan stood, backing away from the hole but keeping an eye on it. He kept Virgil close to his chest almost possessively. “Well, that explains what was eating your string,” Logan muttered bitterly. 

“Yeah…I can’t believe we forgot about it.” He remembered how the rat had almost gotten to Logan and Roman before. “I have no idea what I’m going to do now though.” He didn’t feel safe going back into the walls with a rat stalking around.

“Usually I’d suggest an exterminator, but in this case, it would be far too risky.” Logan set Virgil down on the kitchen table, pulling out his laptop. “They would likely ask too many questions if they managed to find any of the borrower halls.”

Virgil winced. “Yeah, no thanks.” That was the last thing they needed. “But then what? We can’t just leave the rat roaming the…walls…” Virgil’s eyes widened. “Oh crap, Patton!”

Logan, realizing Virgil’s concern, immediately pulled out his phone. It rang a few times before a slightly tired voice picked up on the other side. 

_R: Hello?_

“Roman.” Logan greeted him, pulling the phone away from his face to put the device on speaker. “I need to speak to Patton.”

_R: Oh great, not you too._

Virgil groaned. “Roman, we don’t have time for this! There is a rat running loose in the walls. Is Patton with you or not!”

_R: The rat’s back?_ (Roman sounded a bit surprised and definitely shamed.) _Y-yeah, Patton’s right here. Say hi, Pat._

_P: Hi guys!_

Virgil sighed in relief in hearing Patton’s voice. “Hey, Pat. You know the drill. Try not to go in the walls.”

_ P: I know, I won’t!_

“Good.” Logan gave a nod before he reached over and hung up the phone. 

Virgil blinked. He looked up at Logan. “Uhh…?”

“What?” Logan noticed Virgil looking at him almost expectantly. “Was the conversation not complete? We heard Patton’s voice.”

“Well, yeah, but humans usually say…goodbye, before they hang up the phone. Or just in general.” Virgil explained.

“…oh, right.” Logan looked slightly embarrassed. “I always seem to forget that step. It always felt unnecessary, and I haven’t made many social calls in my life.”

“It’s alright. I’m not the best on the phone either.” Virgil thought back to his call with Dee when he was still human-sized and shuddered. “Anyway, so what are we going to do?”

“Well…” Logan looked Virgil up and down, remembering the size of his roommate. “It’s up to your discretion, of course, but we could set out some traps.”

Virgil winced but sighed. “That might be our best bet to catch this thing, as much as I hate it.” Virgil crossed his arms. “I don’t want to be anywhere _near_ them, though.”

“That’s perfectly reasonable, all things considered.” Logan nodded. “I certainly would not wish to put you at risk. In fact, perhaps it would be best if you go stay with Roman and Patton while I deal with this issue.” Though Logan wasn’t looking forward to the task, it was not as though Virgil could help him.

Virgil nodded. “Sounds like a plan. I haven’t actually gotten to hang out with them since we turned back, so it should be nice.” Virgil said with a shrug. He knew this probably meant he would be meeting Thomas as well but he couldn’t avoid him forever.

Logan pressed dial on the phone again, wanting to update the others.

_R: Oh, NOW you call back? _(Roman was clearly annoyed at being hung up on earlier)

“Roman, may Virgil stay with the two of you while I sort out this rat infestation problem?” Logan asked.

_R: What?… Certainly! Yes! We would love for Virgil to join us. _

_ P: Wait, Virgil is coming over? Yay!_

Virgil rolled his eyes at the two fondly. “Guess I’m hanging out with them for the day then.”

“We shall be over shortly.” Logan’s finger hovered over the end call button briefly, remembering his lesson. “…goodbye,” Logan said it almost robotically, now hanging up.

Virgil smirked. “Better,” Virgil said, referring to Logan’s phone etiquette. 

Logan looked pleased with this. “Let us not keep them waiting.” Logan stood up, setting his hand down for Virgil.

Virgil climbed on, proud to notice he didn’t so much as hesitated while doing so. He settled on Logan’s palm, giving the human a nod to indicate he was ready.

Since no humans lived in the building that weren’t aware of the borrowers, Logan felt no need to hide Virgil away as he walked up to Roman’s apartment. After a single knock, the door swung open, Roman having clearly been waiting on the other side.

“Good morning!” Roman turned to give them both a smile. “We were just about to have breakfast. Care to join us?”

Virgil rolled his eyes. “Sure, Ro.”

“I have to pass.” Logan declined, handing Virgil over. “I should really get to work as soon as possible.” 

“Oh, alright.” Roman brought Virgil closer to himself. “Well, just let us know if there’s anything you need!” Logan gave a nod, then Roman shut the door. 

“This is going to be fun!” Roman said, looking excited as he brought Virgil over to the dining table where Patton was waiting. “We were already brainstorming some adventures for the day.”

Patton looked up from his spot on the table. “Hey, Virgil!” It felt like forever since he had seen his best friend. 

Virgil grinned. “Hey, Pat. How are things?”

“Pretty good! I went to school with Thomas the other day, which was fun.” All of them had already decided not to tell Virgil and Logan about what had happened. They didn’t want a lecture on their hands.

Virgil winced, not thinking about going to school was the best idea. But he didn’t say anything. Instead, he turned to look up at Roman. “So, what’s for breakfast?”

“Hash browns,” Roman answered, setting Virgil down to return his attention back to the pan. “And they’re nearly done.”

“Cool, I’ve never had hash browns before,” Virgil said, walking over to stand by Patton. Patton grinned and gave him a quick hug.

“Good to see you kiddo, how are things going with Logan?” Patton had been worried about that since Virgil had told him they had simply agreed to be civil with each other. Virgil gave him a soft smile.

“Actually…pretty good. I, uh, forgave him and he forgave me, so…” Virgil shrugged and Patton gasped.

“Oh, Virgil! That’s great!” He hugged Virgil again.

“I didn’t know these are celebratory hash browns!” Roman seemed equally pleased as he put the food out onto a plate, bringing it over to the table. “I was beginning to think that it would never happen.”

“Me too,” Virgil muttered, staring down at the hash browns. “But I guess we’re friends now? Maybe? I…never really confirmed it with Logan…” He muttered the last bit. Did Logan see him as a friend now?

“I’m sure you guys are!” Patton exclaimed to reassure him. “Right, Roman?”

“As close as you can get to friends with that calculator.” Roman chuckled, sitting down and dishing out smaller portions of hash browns for each borrower. “Logan’s not exactly the touchy-feely type, but his heart is in the right place. If he has one.”

“Yeah, he does,” Virgil said, remembering the night before. He grabbed a piece of hash brown and took a bite, face lighting up. “Wow, this is _really_ good.”

Patton was already digging into his. “I know, right?”

There was a knock at the door, and Roman let out a small sigh. “…oh, right.” He got up, leaving the room to answer it.

Virgil blinked, watching Roman go. He turned to Patton. “Who’s that?” Patton grinned, swallowing his bite.

“Thomas must be here!” Patton exclaimed happily. Virgil blinked. Oh. Welp looks like he was about to see Thomas as a borrower for the first time. He braced himself.

“Hey Thomas, come on in.” Roman opened the door, leading Thomas back to the kitchen. “Virgil’s here, too.”

Thomas paused for a moment. “Virgil?” He quickened his pace, eager to see Virgil after what felt like ages. He kept trying to arrange a dinner with Logan between the three of them just like he had with Roman and Patton, but Logan had stopped returning his calls.

Virgil stood up as he saw Thomas enter the room. “Hey, Thomas.” He gave a small salute.

Thomas tried to contain his excitement, giving Virgil a small wave. “Hi, Virgil!” He took the seat closest to the borrowers, accidentally taking Roman’s spot in his haste. 

Roman rolled his eyes, moving his own plate over one spot. 

Thomas didn’t seem to notice, too enraptured by Virgil’s presence. “So, Virgil, um…how’ve ya been, buddy?”

“I’ve been good. Logan and I made up so that’s something.” Virgil looked between all of them. “What have you guys been up to?”

Thomas glanced at the other two, looking nervous as he tried to guess what Virgil knew.

“Ah, really just…just school.” Roman nodded, picking away at his hash browns.

“Yep! Just a lot of school, nothing else.” Patton said, hoping Virgil didn’t see through them.

“I really don’t think going to school with them is a good idea, Pat. What if something happens?” Virgil just cared about his friend’s wellbeing. 

“I’m fine though!” Patton said, looking up at the humans for help.

“Yeah, nothing happened!” Roman laughed a little too fakely to himself.

Thomas stayed quiet on the matter, knowing it had been his fault. 

Virgil hummed, they were all acting suspicious. “Really? Cause it seems like something did happ-” Patton cut Virgil off.

“Speaking of school, isn’t it around that time guys?” Patton said, not actually knowing it was time but hoping they would go along with it anyway.

“Oh, yeah.” Thomas perked up a little. “I mean, if you’d like to come again Patton, I’ll be super careful this time.” Though yesterday had been a mess, at least today Thomas didn’t have biology. “And Virgil, you’re welcome to come too!”

“Or, ah, you can stay here.” Roman offered, jumping in.

Virgil bit his lip, not liking how Thomas had said ‘this time’. “I don’t know…” He would much rather stay with Roman in all honesty, but then Patton shot him the puppy dog eyes.

“_Please_, Virgil? It’ll be fun, I promise!” Virgil tried to resist but it was no use.

“_Fine_.” He said, crossing his arms. Patton cheered.

Roman didn’t hold back his groan, gathering up the dishes and trying not to storm into the kitchen. 

“…I think that’s our cue to get going.” Thomas said sheepishly, pulling his bag up onto his lap. He set his palm out for the borrowers.

Patton went right on but it took a few extra moments for Virgil to follow, both because he was a bit nervous and because he noticed Roman’s strange behavior. What was going on? When they were both settled, Patton was the one to give Thomas the thumbs up.

Thomas gave Virgil a reassuring smile, setting both borrowers down into the bag. “Bye, Roman!” He called into the kitchen. “Thanks for breakfast!”

“MHMM.” Roman responded with an over-enthusiastic noise, sounding almost strained. 

Thomas sighed, wondering what was up with him as he left for class.

Roman heard the front door shut, trying not to let the bitterness consume him as he scrubbed furiously at the dish that was already clean. He was just so frustrated that everyone kept choosing Thomas over him, especially when Thomas was nowhere near as careful as he should be around Patton. Not to mention, Roman had hardly even seen Virgil! They were supposed to spend the day together! 

The theatre major groaned, setting the dish to the side. If only there was something productive he could do to help get all of this anger out…

He paused, getting an idea. Roman grabbed his coat, locking the front door and heading downstairs. He pounded on Logan’s door, not pausing until he got a response.

“…can I help you?” Logan raised an eyebrow at him, standing in the doorway.

“I’m here to help you catch a rat.”

***

“I still think this is a bad idea. And I know something happened that you guys aren’t telling me.” Virgil said as they both sat inside Thomas’ bag. Patton put on a smile.

“It’s fine, Virge. And I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Virgil rolled his eyes.

Thomas tried his best to avoid being jostled about by the crowd of people who all seemed intent on pushing into him today. It was prime class hours and the halls were packed as Thomas tried his best to make it to class on time.

“LOOK OUT!” Thomas gasped as he was suddenly run into, falling back to hit the floor with a painful thud. His bag tumbled to the side, and a crowd began to form around him to check if he was alright.

The feeling of their human being run into and falling was familiar to both of them. They both fell out of the bag, sprawled out onto the floor below. They groaned, trying their best to get up, but having a hard time.

“Woah, Thomas, you took quite a tumble there gurl.” Remy put his arm out, pulling Thomas up. 

“I…I need to…” Thomas looked around frantically, trying to spot his bag in the sea of people. 

“C’mon, we’re gonna be late for class.” Remy began to shove Thomas forwards.

“Wait, my bag!” Thomas protested, trying to break free of Remy’s grip. 

Meanwhile, a familiar face was scanning the crowd. Having spotted the two tiny figures sprawled on the floor, Dee chuckled to himself. Two? This day just got even better. He easily maneuvered through the crowd, students ducking their heads and letting him pass.

Virgil helped Patton up as they tried to look for Thomas and his bag. They saw it a few feet away and despite not seeing Thomas near it, decided that was their best bet. “Come on Pat,” Virgil whispered as he pushed him along towards the bag.

They never stood a chance. 

With precise movements, Dee bent down, grabbing both in one fell swoop and shoving them deep into his trench coat pocket.

Both borrowers yelped as they were quickly grabbed and placed into a pocket. As the hand lifted away, they both shot up looking at each other with panic. “That isn’t Thomas,” Virgil spoke quietly in horror. 

“W-What are we going to do?” Patton spoke, shaking. None of them could handle _another_ human knowing about them. Virgil shook his head.

“I-I don’t know.”

“Remy let GO!” Thomas yelled, yanking his arm away. 

“Woah, hey, no need to get fussy.” Remy put his hands up in defense. “Down, pussy cat.”

Thomas ignored his friend’s antics, rushing over to gather up his bag. He gasped when he saw the bag was empty, looking around through the sea of legs for any sign of his tiny friends. 

Meanwhile, Remy ducked around a corner, quickening his pace to fall briefly in line with Dr. Dee.

“You owe me a Starbucks gift card.” Remy reminded him. For once not even annoyed, the professor pulled out the card from a separate pocket and handed it over. Remy’s fist pumped in victory, heading to Starbucks instead of class. 

Dee could care less about one student skipping class. As he rubbed his gloved fingers along the creatures in his pocket, Dee remembered he had gotten exactly what he wanted.

Patton flinched away as the hand came back and started touching him, trying his best to move away but to no avail. He looked to Virgil helplessly, who really wanted to help but didn’t know _how_. There was _nothing_ they could do against a human. 


	5. Something's missing...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dee inspects his newest findings while Thomas makes a frantic call to his friends.

The dean walked through the halls, down the basement stairs to the private biology labs. In the back sat one reserved just for him, and this was his destination. The cage that Logan returned still sat on the counter and Dee considered recycling it to be poetic justice. He took the creatures out of his pocket, tossing them both inside.

“Well well well, would you look at _you_.” Dee crooned, giving them a cold grin.

Both borrowers groaned as they were thrown onto hard metal and then both promptly froze at the voice. Virgil especially would recognize that voice anywhere.

In unison, they both looked up to meet eyes with who they could only assume was Dr. Dee. But based on the voice and the way he was looking at them, Virgil figured it was a fair assumption. “N-No,” Virgil muttered, scooting back. He heard Patton whimper.

The professor’s eyes widened. “So, the little birdy speaks.” He snatched Virgil back up in a fist, pulling him back out to inspect further. “_Fascinating_.”

“Ah!” Virgil cried, struggling within the tight grip. It was nothing like Roman’s or Logan’s, even back when they first met. Dee’s grip was close to suffocating. He just _had_ to go and open his mouth. Well, no going back now. “Let us go!”

Patton, meanwhile, could only stare helplessly as Dee had his friend. “Yeah! Let us go!”

The dean ignored their pleas, instead reaching for the tiniest tongue compressor available and using it to hold the subject’s mouth open. 

Virgil let out a muffled cry as his mouth was opened by a wooden stick. He tried to turn his head but the stick held him in place as well.

Patton felt tears start to run down his face. “Stop it!” He didn’t know what Dee was doing but it didn’t look good.

“Extraordinary.” Dr. Dee peered over the bridge of his nose down into the tiny throat. Every fragment, every crevice- however minuscule- resembled that of the human body. Changing tactics, he set the stick to the side to examine the saliva later. For now, he set the creature down on the counter, using his fingers to keep it in a starfish formation.

With his free hand, Dee grabbed a thin, long metal rod and began to prod the specimen in various places.

Virgil struggled, even more, ignoring how tired he was starting to feel. His eyes widened at the metal stick and shut his eyes tight as it started to poke at him. He hated this, he hated this, he hated this-!

Patton hated watching it and couldn’t help but shout at Dee. “Stop, please! Let Virgil go!”

“Virgil, hm?” Dee used the long end of the rod to carefully lift the subject’s chin, briefly recognizing the name from a strange and frustrating call the week before. “‘Far too cumbersome to remember, but subject V. would suffice. Are we clear?”

“Wh-What? No! We’re not things for you to rename or use! We’re _people_!” Virgil shouted up at the human, still be held down.

“Hardly.” The doctor set the rod down, bringing subject V back into his fist. “Though a person is just as easily manipulated as a puppet, none is quite so literally fitting of that role as yourself. I don’t know what you are, but it certainly isn’t human. You’re far too malleable.” To illustrate his point. Dee gave subject V a squeeze.

Virgil cried out in pain as Dee squeezed him tight. Patton’s eyes widened. “Stop! You’re hurting him!”

“That was the intention,” Dee smirked, releasing the pressure and turning to the subject still in the cage. “A creature will do what you wish either due to the promise of reward or the threat of a punishment. I prefer the latter. The amount of punishment a creature endures is dependent entirely upon their own level of intelligence. Well, that and their pain tolerance.” Dee gave a low chuckle. 

“We…We may not be human but we don’t _deserve this_.” Patton spoke, trying to reason with Dee. “I mean, we can talk and think! That has to count for something, right?”

“Oh, absolutely.” The professor deposited V back into the cage, switching out subjects to bring the one who kept talking out to play. “Those talents are what make your kind so extraordinary.”

Virgil quickly stood up, wasting no time in yelling at Dee. “Let him go! I swear if you hurt him…” Virgil practically growled out.

Patton struggled against the grip, looking up at Dee with pleading eyes. “Please, we’re _just_ like you, just _smaller_. And you wouldn’t do any of this to another human, right?”

“You clearly don’t know me very well.” The dean gave a humorless chuckle, looking between the two subjects and noticing V’s fondness for the one is his hand. “What’s your name?”

Patton glared at Dee. “I’m not telling you.”

Virgil’s eyes widened. 

Dee turned to subject V. “What’s its name?”

Virgil grit his teeth. “_He’s_ not an _it_.” He glanced at Patton, who shook his head. He didn’t know what Patton was doing and knew this could only end badly but he went along with it anyway. 

He was going to regret this.

“And I’m not telling you either.” _Don’t hurt Patton, don’t hurt Patton._

Immediately Dee applied pressure around the subject’s form.

Patton screamed and Virgil was unable to go any further. “Stop! His name is Patton! His name is Patton!”

“Good.” Dee praised, allowing Subject P to breathe. He didn’t actually care about the name so much as the cooperation. It was important to assert dominance early for the best results. Thankfully, subjects that could speak and understand him made the process speed by rapidly.

“Tell me about yourself.” Dee looked comfortable, almost lazily resting his cheek on his free hand while he maintained eye contact with Subject V.

Patton breathed heavily, still trying to get air back into his lungs. Virgil gulped, knowing he had to go along with things lest Patton gets hurt again. “…What do you want to know?”

“How were you discovered?” The dean asked, twirling Subject P slowly in his grasp. These creatures were quite delightful.

Patton yelped, shivering as he was manhandled. 

Virgil winced as he watched this. “Um…I was found by Logan in his apartment after I tried to get some supplies and Patton was found by Roman in _his_ apartment after trying to watch a movie.” Virgil answered, hating every word that came out of his mouth.

“Do you truly live in the walls?” Dee asked, remembering the stories of his childhood. “And take things back into your little nests?”

“…Yes. We take things back to our _homes_.” He didn’t like Dee referring to them as nests. But, then again, Virgil didn’t like anything about Dee.

“What sorts of trinkets does your kind collect?” The dean prompted, leaning forwards. He had always pictured them similar to crow’s nests, especially after all his shiny jewelry had gone missing in high school.

Virgil, in turn, leaned back. “Just p-practical things. Like paper clips or tin foil. Things we can use and make into other things.” Virgil kept glancing at Patton, making sure he was mostly all right.

“How many of you are there to each nest?” Dee began to try and do the math. “How many nests to a building?”

Virgil sighed. “It all depends but we live on our own. With there only being two of us in the entire building.”

“Pity.” Dee looked almost disappointed for a moment. He paused the twirling of Subject P, allowing the silence to stew before he came to his most important question. “Where can I find more of you?”

Virgil smirked, knowing this was a question he could answer honestly but still give nothing away. “I have no idea.” _Screw you._

Dee frowned, applying only a minimal amount of pressure to Subject P.

Virgil’s smirk dropped and his eyes widened. “Stop! I’m telling the truth!”

“I have no reason to believe you.” Dee’s gaze hardened, his grip tightening ever so slightly. “One of the most basic carnal abilities is that of finding fellow members of its species.”

“Maybe for _animals_ but we’ve learned a long time ago, it’s easier and safer to be as far away as possible. So, _sorry_ but I have no idea where any more of us are.” Virgil crossed his arms. “And I wouldn’t risk Patton being hurt by lying.”

“Then perhaps you should stop doing so,” Dee growled.

“I’m_ not,_” Virgil growled back. Patton spoke up for the first time in a while. 

“He-He’s telling the truth…” He tried.

“Hmm?” Dee turned back to the one in his hand, looking intrigued. He loosened his hand just enough to let it speak.

“We’re…In human terms, we’re loners. We have to be. If there were a lot of us in the building, people could find us more easily. And borrowers don’t usually communicate with each other outside of our own building.” Patton tried to explain, hoping Dee would see it was true.

“Interesting.” Dee brought Subject P up higher, examining him further now that he was willing to cooperate. _Borrowers,_ hmm? Of course, Dee still had to develop a more scientific title for these creatures. “Tell me more.” 

***

Thomas was trying not to panic, searching throughout every hall of the school _twice_ for any sign of his borrower friends. He looked under lockers, behind tables, and even into the vents. After a while, all the other students had filtered out to go home, but Thomas was nearly in tears as he continued to search.

“Patton?” Thomas called out quietly, ducking into classroom after classroom. “Virgil?”

He stood in the darkening room, feeling the wave of anxiety threatening to overwhelm him. He clenched his fists at his sides, now allowing the tears to fall. He was so _stupid_. How could he have put them in danger like this? What if someone else had spotted them, or _taken_ them, or…or…

Thomas sobbed openly into his palms, picturing all the horrible things that could be happening to his friends. Roman was right, Patton never should have come back to school. 

Roman….”Roman!” Thomas said in realization, quickly attempting to wipe his face clear. He pulled out his phone, praying that Roman would pick up. The phone seemed to ring for an eternity.

R: Yes, what is it?

Thomas could have cried in relief when Roman answered, although based on the background noise it seemed they had found the rat.

“R-Roman!” Thomas’ voice still shook slightly, having not fully recovered from crying his eyes out moments ago.

_R: Thomas?_ (Roman immediately sounded concerned.) _What’s wrong?_

“It’s- it’s Patton and Virgil!” Thomas hurried to explain. “They’re missing!”

_R: WHAT?!_

There was a frantic squeaking on the other end, before an out of breath could be faintly heard in the background.

_L: Roman, whatever is the matter?_

_R: The borrowers are missing! Wha-? Hey!_

Instantly Logan’s voice sounded much louder, coming over to take the phone.

_L: Thomas, what happened?_

“I- someone ran into me in the hall, and…” Thomas hiccuped slightly, overwhelmed. “And my bag was knocked out of my arms, and then when I picked it back up they weren’t in there, a-and I can’t find them anywhere!”

_L: Stay right there. Stay calm. We will be there shortly. _

“I’m so sorr-” Thomas tried to apologize, but Logan shut off the phone before Thomas could finish. 

***

“I knew this was a terrible idea.” Roman cursed, pulling on his coat already. “I’ll drive.”

“Good.” Logan pulled on his own coat, the two dashing down the stairs. Logan disposed of the rat on their way out, jumping into Roman’s car. 

As they went, Roman’s fingers tapped nervously on the steering wheel. His foot felt permanently glued to the floor as he practically sped through every yellow light, and more than once did Logan have to remind him to slow down.

Of course, both humans were equally worried. They sprinted into the school building, and only at the threshold did Logan put an arm out to slow Roman down.

“What gives?” Roman said indignantly, ready to push back.

“Virgil and Patton are missing.” Logan reminded him, eyes firm. “We have to be careful where we step.”

Roman paled, catching what Logan was implying. “…right.” He gave a determined nod, slowly pushing the door open. 

Thomas was already waiting just inside, his eyes still rimmed with red and puffy.

“Where did it happen?” Logan asked, walking with a purpose but eyes constantly on the floor.

“Over here.” Thomas led them through the halls to the scene of the crime.

“Can you walk us through _exactly_ what happened?” Roman pressed, while Logan had already begun to pace the hallway like a regular Sherlock Holmes.

“Well, ah..” Thomas counted the floor tiles trying to figure out where he was. “I think I was standing here, and the hall was jam-packed with people. And then Remy ran into me, and the bag fell somewhere over there…” Logan began to inspect the area where Thomas pointed.

“And then what?” Roman prompted, trying to picture the scene in his mind theatre.

“Uh, I tried to take my bag back, but Remy kept trying to pull me to class so it took a couple moments.” Thomas winced at the memory. “And then I came over here…”

Thomas and Logan went to inspect the indicated location, but Roman’s eyes traveled elsewhere. He frowned, squinting as a figure appeared at the end of the hall only to quickly backtrack the other way. That was…odd. Roman dashed down the hall, anxious to get another look.

“Remy?” Roman’s voice caused the Starbucks lover to wince, turning around slowly to face him.

“Heh, hey Roman.” Remy quickly fell back into his laid back manner of speaking. “What’re you guys doing here? I thought I was the only one who came to late-night coffee hour.”

“Thomas…lost his phone earlier.” Roman chose his words carefully, remembering that Thomas had mentioned Remy was at the scene of the crime. “We think somebody took it.”

Remy’s face fell for only a moment before he pushed his sunglasses back up, making his expression unreadable. “Well, that’s a shame.”

“I think you know who did it.” Roman murmured, taking a step forward. Remy took a step back in fear. Of course, this only made him appear more guilty. Roman knew how to spot a terrible actor.

“Look, I don’t know what you’re-” Remy’s sentence was cut off as Roman grabbed the front edges of his leather jacket and swung him into the lockers with a loud bang. Immediately the noise alerted Thomas and Logan who came running around the corner.

“Roman!” Thomas cried out, shocked at the scene before him. “What are you doing?”

“What do you know?” Roman growled, glaring daggers at Remy.

“I-it’s not my fault!” Remy’s sunglasses had been knocked to the ground, causing him to stare wide-eyed as his gaze darted between the three students. “Ah screw it, all the pumpkin spice in the world isn’t worth this. Professor Dee promised me a Starbucks gift card if I tussled Thomas up a bit.” 

“Oh, no.” Logan’s face looked whiter than a sheet. 

If one were to look at Thomas, they would see he wasn’t faring much better. “Remy, how could you…” He spoke softly, disappointed.

Roman’s grip on Remy faltered, also paling at this development, but Roman stood his ground. “Where is he now!”

“I don’t know!” Remy squeezed his eyes shut, turning to the side as though Roman was going to punch him. “He already paid me, gurl, the deal’s over.”

“Let him go, Roman,” Logan instructed.

“But…” Roman looked back and forth between Logan and Remy, unsure. This was their only lead.

“I believe I know where Dee is,” Logan explained, having worked with the professor before. 

Roman slowly released Remy’s jacket, and immediately the teen tore out of there like a roadrunner on caffeine.

“_ByeThomasHopeYouFindYourPhone_!” Remy’s goodbye was so fast that Thomas almost thought he missed it entirely.

“If he thinks I’m gonna keep bringing him the homework, he can forget it.” Thomas muttered, crossing his arms.

“Where’s Dee?” Roman asked, turning his full attention to Logan. “His office?”

“No, that’s too conspicuous for what he has planned.” Logan felt his fists clenching at his sides, remembering Dee’s words from not so long ago:

_I wonder if their screams would be muted due to the size of their vocal pipes. I’d hope not, it’d be a lot harder to test their pain tolerance._

Logan grit his teeth, leading Roman and Thomas down into the basement stairs. He passed by the many laboratories, set on his destination.

“It’s cold down here.” Thomas shivered, pulling his arms close.

“I must say, I have never been to this part of the building.” Roman looked into a few windows as they passed by, spotting what looked to be a rotting animal carcass at one station. He shuddered, facing forwards once more. Though this was his first time, it wasn’t exactly an honor to be here.

“This wing is mostly for graduate research,” Logan explained. He spotted the familiar door, marking Dee’s private study. With a determined look, Logan pounded on its hard metal surface.


	6. Oof

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dee's a real ass in this one, warnings for needles and unwanted touching and I think that's the majority.

Patton was still in Dee’s hand as he continued to speak and answer questions. Glancing at Virgil revealed he hated revealing so much information to Dee just as much as Patton did but Patton knew bad things would happen otherwise. Besides, the more they distracted Dee with talk the longer they went without any physical forms of study.

Suddenly both borrowers jumped and Patton stopped talking as a pounding on the door happened. They both looked at each other, both hoping it was their friends here to save them.

“Looks like we have visitors.” Dee murmured, turning to glance at the door. Though many of the labs had observational windows, Dee had specifically requested he be covered a long time ago so that others could not observe his work.

“Dr. Dee!” Roman yelled, pushing past Logan and banging harder on the door. “We know you’re in there!”

Patton gasped in joy. “Roman!” He called out as loud as he could, hoping his voice would carry and the others would be able to hear him. 

Virgil smiled, looking out from the bars of the cage. He knew they would come. He glared at Dee. “Looks like your little study session has come to an end,” Virgil smirked, feeling more confident now that their human friends were here.

“Hardly.” Dee chuckled, though he was amused by subject V’s spunk. He smirked at the locked door, feeling confident that three students would not be able to break it down. 

“Patton?” Thomas’ voice carried through the door as he pressed himself against it as well. “Is that you?”

“Thomas!” Patton called out again, smile getting wider. “Yes, we’re in here! Help!”

“We’re working on that, Pat,” Roman grunted, shoving his body weight against the door. 

“It’s no use.” Dee called out to them almost gleefully, having fun. “That is a slab of pure reinforced metal, designed to withstand even the harshest of chemicals.”

“He’s right.” Logan murmured, now inspecting the lock. 

“Well then what do we do?” Thomas whispered. 

“Dee, surrender now,” Roman spoke loudly, trying to convey a confidence he didn’t have, “and your fate shall be merciful.”

“Threatening a professor?” Dee made a _tut-tut_ noise. “What a shame, I always thought there was at least a shred of intelligence in that skull of yours. How unfortunate to be mistaken.”

Virgil was beginning to lose hope that the three humans would actually be able to get in to save them. He glared at Dee again, hating his smug attitude. He also hated that he felt utterly useless right now. Unable to do anything but fight back with words. “Let us go!” He yelled at Dee once again.

Patton started struggling within the grip again. 

“Quiet, you.” Dee snarled, annoyed that this situation was turning his cooperative subjects against him again. He reached into the cage, flicking subject V against the bars. 

“Ah!” Virgil cried out as he was thrown against the metal bars. He fell to the floor, groaning in pain.

“Virgil!” Patton cried out, stopping his struggles to watch horrified at what Dee had done.

At Virgil’s cry, something snapped in Logan. 

“Leave him ALONE!” Logan bellowed, punching at the door as though he could break it down. He let out a gasp of pain, pulling his wrist back to cradle it close to his chest.

Inside, Dee let out a burst of laughter. “Did you_ really_ just punch it? I thought you were supposed to be the intelligent one!”

Patton, too, was losing hope as he continued struggling again. “Stop! Please, just let us _go_!” Patton cried out, a small sob escaping him.

Virgil tried to push himself up looking up at Patton with sad eyes. They were both useless in this situation and by the looks of things, so were the others. The only one who had the power here was Dee and he knew it.

“Are you alright?” Roman asked, coming over to inspect Logan’s wrist. 

“I’m fine,” Logan answered, but it came out more as a gasp while he still fought to keep from crying out.

“What are we gonna do?” Thomas asked, looking between the two of them. They were all thinking that same question. 

“We can’t just leave them here.” Roman insisted, but he was unsure what else they could do. 

“I…” Logan looked at the door, for once unsure. “He certainly has to leave eventually.”

“So we wait him out?” Thomas guessed.

“What, and leave them to suffer for what could be _days_?” Roman argued.

“Well do you have a better plan?” Thomas pointed out, making Roman go quiet.

“…no.” Logan shook his head. “No, Roman’s right.”

“I am?” Even Roman looked surprised at this. 

“We cannot just sit around waiting while a _PSYCHOPATH destroys our friends’ lives!_” The last part of Logan’s statement was yelled at the door, the biology student already reeling back his other arm to punch the door again. 

“My my, you two seem to have really riled everyone up out there.” Dee frowned at subject still in his hand. Though this began as a fun little game, this distraction was beginning to get tedious.

“They’ll-They’ll get us out of here! Just you wait! You’re going to be sorry!” Though his voice was full of confidence, it was more of a hope than anything at this point. 

Virgil stood up all the way, leaning against the cage bars to hold him up. “I’m not sure what psychopath means but Logan’s right. You definitely are one.” Virgil practically growled out.

“Men of greatness are fitting of many titles.” The professor responded with a sly grin. He tossed Subject P back in the cage, shutting the door to keep them contained. Dee doubted there would be much progress again until the ruffians left.

“Logan!” It was Roman who grabbed Logan’s arm, stopping the nerd from hurting his other wrist. 

Patton yelped as he hit the ground and Virgil, sending the two sprawled out onto the cage floor. Both borrowers groaned but Patton was quicker to recover as he stood up and looked over Virgil. “Are you okay?” He whispered. Virgil just shook his head and glared up at Dee.

“_No_, I’m not.” He hissed out.

“We need to get in there.” Logan insisted, trying to tug his arm away. 

“No, we need a plan.” Roman’s grip held firm. “Is there another way in? A key we could find?”

Logan paused, halting his efforts to think about what Roman had said. Surely a faculty member of a higher rank would have access, and Logan had already been planning on meeting with one such person to discuss Dee’s unlawful treatments.

“Follow me,” Logan instructed, walking back down the hall with a steely gaze. Roman followed, hot on his heels.

“We’ll be back soon, guys!” Thomas called in an encouraging tone through the door, before following as well.

Dee listened to the sound of retreating footsteps, smirking down at his subjects.

“Aww, what a shame.” He fake pouted. “Seems your owners have abandoned you.”

Virgil grit his teeth and stood up using Patton as support. “They aren’t our owners! They’re our friends and they’ll come back for us!”

“I’m sure they will.” Dee took a moment to frown at the door. Though three ordinary students were no threat, he knew better than to underestimate an adversary. It was possible that the students would indeed find a means to get in here, thus interrupting his research. “Perhaps it’s time we speed things along, hmm?”

Both borrowers’ eyes widened. “What…What does that mean?” Patton asked shakily, backing a step away, taking Virgil with him.

Dee didn’t bother answering, instead going over to his drawers and pulling out some more tools. The professor pulled on a pair of rubber gloves, the elastic flicking into place with a snap. He looked back and forth between the subjects, tilting his head and humming to himself as he debated between the two. 

“Let’s start with the troublemaker, shall we?” The doctor grinned, reaching in and plucking up subject V.

Virgil struggled but he was weaker than before due to his injuries. Patton could only watch in horror as Virgil was ripped from his arms. “Let him go!” Patton shouted. He didn’t know what Dee had planned but it couldn’t be good.

Dee closed the cage, bringing the borrower over to the sanitized station. He took a pair of medical scissors in his free hand, bringing the sharp points dangerously close to the subject’s head.

Virgil’s eyes widened and he leaned back as far as he could go. “Stop! _No_!” 

Dee looked at subject V’s face, pausing briefly before bursting out laughing.

Virgil’s face turned red and he glared at the human. “Wh-What’s so funny?” He growled out.

“You should have seen your _face_!” Dee chuckled breathlessly, nearly doubled over in laughter. “What, did you really think I was going to kill such a valuable specimen?” He brought the scissors close again, but his movements were quick as the blunt of the blade grazed the borrower’s head and Dee merely took a small clipping of hair.

Virgil felt tears prick the corners of his eyes at Dee’s cruel joke and yelped when some of his hair was cut off. “Hey!” Virgil shouted but the borrower was thankful it wasn’t his head. 

Patton, unable to really see Virgil from where he was, could only sigh in relief when he heard Dee say he wouldn’t kill him.

“No, I can assure you no permanent harm shall befall you at my hand.” Dee gave subject V a stern look. “So long as you remain more useful to me alive, that is.”

Both Virgil and Patton gulped at Dee’s words. 

Dee set the subject down, laying the borrower in the familiar starfish position. Once he was satisfied, Dee removed his hands to instead prep some test tubes on the opposite counter. He turned back to the borrower with a small needle in hand, a smirk on his face as he gave the end a slight flick.

Virgil wasn’t being held down and as soon as he saw that needle in Dee’s hands he was up and running across the table. He didn’t know where he was trying to go, he just knew he wanted to get _away_.

Patton’s eyes widened at the needle and then widened even more as Virgil stood and made a run for it. _Oh no_… Patton knew this could only end badly.

“No no no~” Dee’s tone was almost melodic, teasing as he approached the lab table and stuck his arm out to block the subject’s path.

Virgil couldn’t stop in time and collided with the hand, falling onto his butt. He groaned. He was getting so many injuries in such a short amount of time. It was starting to get ridiculous. He got up and tried to run around the hand, despite knowing it was useless.

With practiced ease Dee’s fingers snapped around the back of the borrower’s clothing, dragging him back into position.

“No! Let me go!” Virgil tried to get out of the grip but it was no use. He wished he could do more against this human, instead of just his useless shouting.

Patton deflated as Virgil was caught. He looked up at Dee. “Why are you doing this?”

“Data samples last longer than living subjects,” Dee explained over his shoulder. He turned back to his squirming subject, pressing him down into the table. “Relax, it’s only a few ounces. You have plenty of blood to spare for a sample. And if not, well…” Dee chuckled. “It’s certainly fortunate there’s two of you.”

Patton’s eyes widened as Dee revealed what the needle would do. Without much thinking, Patton shouted at the human. “Wait! Take from me instead!”

Virgil’s eyes widened and his head snapped to where Patton was. “Patton, no!”

Dee looked between the two, considering. He had chosen subject V due to the fact he wanted his more willing subject alive should something go awry. However, at the rate subject V was squirming it would be impossible to get the needle in cleanly. A willing participant would certainly raise the chances of success. 

Besides, Dee was always a sucker for drama.

“Alright.” The dean agreed, coming over to the cage with subject V in hand. He placed the borrower inside, grabbing subject P instead.

Virgil whirled around, watching as Patton was grabbed in his stead. “No! Don’t listen to him, I’ll be good just don’t take from Patton!” Virgil shouted desperately. 

Patton bit his lip and did his best to be still in Dee’s grasp, hoping that would deter him away from Virgil. He hated seeing Virgil like this but he couldn’t risk Virgil’s life. No, he would much rather risk his own if it meant Virgil would be okay.

“You had your chance.” Dee spat, heading back to the table. He laid subject P down in the same position, keeping one hand on the borrower to hold him still while the other brought the needle close. “Stay still or this will hurt.”

“No!” Virgil yelled, banging against the cage bars.

Patton just nodded up at Dee and closed his eyes as he stayed perfectly still.

Dee stuck in the needle, pleased when he hit a vein. The attached tube began to fill up, and as the levels raised to the correct marking, he carefully removed the needle, placing a cotton ball over the wound.

“Good job.” He cooed, grabbing some gauze and wrapping it gently around the borrower’s fragile limb. 

Patton felt dizzy and while he struggled before to not move, it came easily to him now. He was suddenly very tired as well…sleep sounded nice. 

Virgil’s face paled as he watched the container fill up with a _lot_ of blood. Blood that Patton _needed_. “N-No…”

“That’s it.” Dee slowly scooped up the subject, looking over the vial with a pleased expression. “What a good subject you are.” He brushed the subject’s hair, bringing him back over to the cage.

Virgil ran over to Patton as soon as he was set down. Patton nearly fell into his arms. “Patton! Pat, are you okay?” Virgil asked, biting his lip in worry. Patton slowly nodded.

“I’m…I’m fine. Just…dizzy’n tired…” Patton said, words slurred and coming out slow. At least Patton wasn’t dead…yet. Virgil glared up at Dee.

“How could you! He-He _needs_ that!” Virgil yelled, pointing at Patton’s blood.

“No he doesn’t, he’ll be fine.” Dee waved off the subject’s concerns. “A creature’s body is meant to be capable of regenerating large amounts of bodily fluids over time. This was by no means a lethal dose if my assumptions about the similarities between a borrower and human anatomy are correct.” Of course, if his assumptions were wrong…well, at least Dee came out one blood vial ahead.

Virgil growled at him before feeling a hand on his arm. He looked down where Patton was laying down with his head in Virgil’s lap. “It’s okay Virgil, I’m gonna be okay.”

Tears pricked the corner of Virgil’s eyes once again and he got Patton close. “Never do that again, _please_. I-I can’t lose you.” Patton returned the hug but sighed against his shoulder.

“Sorry, no promises. I can’t lose you either.” Virgil let out a watery laugh. He glared back up at Dee again after a moment, watching the human warily as he held Patton close.

“What a touching display,” Dee noted, almost wishing he had caught in on camera. Of course, he had. Dee smirked, looking briefly at the blinking red light up in the corner of his lab. It was a useful tool for gathering observational data the dean might otherwise have missed. 

Now bored of the interaction, Dee turned back to his newly collected samples. He began to prepare them in a petri dish, applying a few to a microscope slide to view more closely. 

Virgil was just glad Dee’s attention was off of them for now. He hoped the others would be back soon. Patton definitely needed some sort of help. Help that Virgil couldn’t give him. He watched as Patton’s eyes closed and Virgil panicked before seeing the steady breathing. He thought about waking him but decided against it. Maybe sleep was what Patton needed right now.

Virgil continued to keep his eyes on Dee as he ran his hand through Patton’s hair.


	7. Wait You Can't Do That, It's Illegal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Turns out Dee doesn't like to play by the rules and makes everyone's lives a lot more difficult.

“Fascinating.” Dee breathed, staring down through the lens as he turned the knobs this way and that. “Oh, simply _marvelous_!” It was in this tedious fashion he continued, inspecting every inch of Virgil’s hair first. As he moved onto the blood slide, a pounding at the door startled the professor so much that he nearly dropped it entirely.

Virgil jumped, startled at the sudden sound. Patton, too, jumped awake and both looked at each other as they recognized the sound. They grinned, it had to be their humans!

“Be careful!” Dee yelled to the other side of the door, quite irritated by the interruption that had nearly destroyed his progress. Of course, he was sure it was just those meddling kids again.

“Dr. Dee?” A voice that was most certainly _not_ one of the previous students made the dean pale. “May we come in?”

The borrowers’ smiles fell. That wasn’t Logan, Roman, or Thomas’ voice. They looked at each other with panic. 

“Oh, ah, not right now!” Dee hurried to explain, already attempting to push the table closer to the door. “I am quite preoccupied at the moment and unable to open the door-” Before he was able to succeed, the door creaked open, revealing four figures on the other side.

“Well, it’s a good thing I have a key myself, then.” Dr. Picani noted, flanked by three friendly faces who looked ready to murder the dean. Dee gulped.

The borrowers’ panic left as soon as they saw their three friends. “Guys!” They both shouted at the same time, though Patton’s shout came out a little quieter as he was still a bit dizzy. The fourth human with them threw them off but if he was willing to help them out then they couldn’t complain.

“Virgil!” “Patton!” All three students rushed over to the cage, relief flooding their features as they completely ignored Picani’s startled looks. Dee tried to step in front of them briefly, only for Roman to promptly punch him in the nose. The dean groaned, falling to the ground and clutching his face.

“Roman!” Picani gasped, shocked at his behavior. 

“Sorry professor,” Roman said, not at all sounding sorry as he didn’t even look over his shoulder before joining the others.

“Are you alright?” Logan asked worriedly, practiced hands unlocking the cage.

“We are now,” Virgil said as he grinned up at Logan and helped Patton up, Patton swayed on his feet and Virgil winced. “But Patton might need some help. Dee took a lot of blood from him.” Patton just nodded.

Logan only nodded, not trusting himself to speak as he carefully scooped up Patton. 

Roman stepped forwards next, putting a hand out for Virgil.

Virgil climbed on readily and happily, settling down in the center of Roman’s palm. “I am so glad you guys are here.” Virgil felt as though he could cry.

Patton just barely registered he was being held now and looked up at Logan with a tired smile. “Hi, Logan.” Patton greeted, his words slightly slurred.

“Hi Patton,” Logan said softly, holding Patton close to his chest.

“…what happened to your hair?” Roman raised an eyebrow as he pulled Virgil out.

“Ugh, _he_ happened.” Virgil pointed to Dee, who was still on the floor, with one hand as the other went to where his hair was cut. Virgil grinned though. “Nice punch by the way.”

“Thank you,” Roman said, looking pleased with himself despite the fact his knuckles were bruised.

“How _dare_ you.” Dee snarled, getting to his feet by clutching the edge of the table. “You come in here, defile my work, invade my sacred zone-!”

“I think that’s our cue to leave,” Thomas commented, ducking around Dee towards the door. The other two followed, both clutching their borrowers possessively. 

“Hold on a moment.” Picani put out an arm, stopping them all in their tracks. His eyes lingered on the tiny people. “I think you all still have a lot of explaining to do.”

Virgil flinched, suddenly remembering the fourth human that had come in with all of them. He grit his teeth. He was _tired_ of all these humans stopping him from leaving. He just wanted to go _home_. “Alright, fine.” Virgil surprised himself by speaking. “He kidnapped us and tried to run experiments on us while completely ignoring the fact that we are sentient beings with feelings. End of story, now let us go home already!”

“How could you do such a thing?” Thomas turned to Dee, looking distraught. He still couldn’t believe a human was capable of such malice.

“Thieves!” Dee protested. “Liars, hooligans, the lot of them.” 

“Ah…perhaps this would be a good time for a more…_civil_ discussion.” Picani took a moment to look sternly at Roman, who didn’t even look sheepish.

“It’s not my fault his face appeared so punchable, professor.” Roman shrugged. As Picani’s gaze grew harsher, Roman had the good sense to duck his head and at least attempt to look repentant.

“Upstairs, my office, all of you.” Picani paused, looking at Logan. “It seems your claims were well-founded after all.”

The students began to follow Picani upstairs, as did a begrudging Dee. Both Logan and Roman kept him at a safe distance, keeping an eye on their respective borrowers.

As the borrowers were brought along, Patton looked up at Logan. Things were getting a little clearer which was nice. “Who’s that? Patton asked Logan, motioning towards the new human.

Virgil, hearing Pat’s question, couldn’t help but wonder the same thing.

“Doctor Picani,” Logan explained in a hushed tone. “He’s the true head of the natural sciences department, which makes him Dee’s superior.” 

“Sorry about him.” Roman looked down at Virgil apologetically. “We didn’t want to get any other humans involved, but… we really didn’t have any other options.”

“It’s…okay. He got you to us and us away from Dee. That’s all that matters.” Though Virgil glared at Picani’s head. “As long as he stays on our side…we should be fine.” Virgil wasn’t too keen to trust another person of science though, not so soon anyway.

The group reached Picani’s office, a large room with a wooden oval desk. On one side Dee sat down, and on the other, the students sat. Picani went into an adjacent room, pulling out an ice pack and offering it to Dee before taking a seat next to his fellow professor.

“Thank you, Picani,” Dee said in an almost sickeningly sweet tone, clearly trying to get on his colleague’s good side. 

“Dee, do you know why you’re here?” Picani asked, looking concerned.

“You took pity on a few students who wanted to sabotage my work.” Dee shrugged, glaring across the table.

“It’s for a far more serious reason, actually,” Picani explained. “Logan here believes you are guilty of illegal experimentation.”

“Oh, is that so?” Dee leaned over the table towards Logan. “I think he’s just mad because I took his _pet_ away.” 

“They’re _not_. Pets.” Logan growled, his fingers curling protectively around Patton. “How dare you accuse them of such a title when they each possess more humanity than you could ever hope to achieve.”

“Yeah!” Patton exclaimed.

“Also, he _literally_ just admitted to kidnapping us, which I believe is illegal, right?” Virgil said, directing his words at Picani.

“Ah, yes that would be correct.” Picani nodded, still looking a bit thrown off. “I’m sorry, who are you, exactly?”

Virgil sighed. “I’m Virgil and that’s Patton.”

“Hi!” Patton waved.

“Like I said before, we’re the _sentient beings_ Dee kidnapped and planned to experiment on.” Virgil crossed his arms.

“I see.” Picani’s eyebrows furrowed.

“This is all just a big misunderstanding!” Dee protested, leaning back to look over at Picani pleadingly. “Surely you can understand a single mistake in my long history of beneficial research to this institution.”

“One mistake, huh?” Roman scoffed.

“I have in my possession files indicating over two decades’ worth of ‘mistakes’,” Logan explained, adjusting his glasses. “Countless violations of the human code of ethics throughout your means of research that you so tactfully hide in your papers yet fail to hide in the video evidence you’ve accumulated of every interaction.”

Dee paled. “How did you…?”

“I have a certain interest in computer hacking,” Logan smirked. “Consider this payback for all your cruel grading these last few weeks. Which, coincidentally, is biased and also illegal.” 

Indeed, ever since Dee had turned on Logan the biology student had set to work digging up dirt on his foul professor in the hopes of having the faculty member removed from the institution. It seemed his hard work was finally paying off. 

“Logan sent me the files and the evidence speaks for itself.” Picani shook his head sadly. “I wanted to give you the chance to share your side of the story before I take this case to the board of trustees.”

Dee looked across the table, eyeing the group with a certain amount of scrutiny. “So it seems I’ve finally met my match…” He chuckled softly.

“Heck yeah, you did! You won’t be bothering us anymore!” Virgil yelled at Dee and smirked smugly. 

Patton, who was slowly but surely getting less dizzy, grinned. That was definitely a nice thought. Not having to deal with Dee anymore.

“Dee, this is no laughing matter,” Picani explained sternly. “It’s very possible that you will go to jail for this.”

“Oh, most certainly.” Dee looked almost bored, pulling out his phone with his free hand. 

“…what are you doing?” Thomas asked, confused. The professor didn’t answer.

“Hold this, boy.” Dee tossed the ice pack at Thomas who caught it with a startled yelp. Now free to use both hands, Dee typed twice as quickly. 

“What tricks are you playing, villain?” Roman sneered, leaning over the table to try and view Dee’s phone.

“All scientists are entitled to their secrets.” Dee looked meaningfully at Logan. “Of course, given the fact you’ve ruined me, I have no need for secret-keeping anymore.”

“I’m not sure I follow.” Logan frowned. He didn’t like being unsure. 

“Aaaand send.” Dee hit one final button, repocketing his phone with a smirk. There was a quiet ping, and Picani pulled out his own phone.

Virgil’s eyebrows furrowed and he looked between Dee and then at Picani’s phone before his head snapped to Dee once more in sudden realization. “…You didn’t.” Virgil said, voice barely above a whisper, not wanting to believe it had actually happened.

Patton was still confused. “Did what?” Why was Virgil looking so pale?

“One mass email sent out to every faculty member of the college of natural sciences.” Dee held up a single finger, looking pleased with himself.

“Dee, why…why would you send this?” Picani frowned at the email’s contents. “This is just your laboratory recording from earlier today. All it does is prove your guilt.”

“Oh, it does far more than that.” Dee chuckled darkly. 

“…oh no.” Logan paled, catching on as well.

“Oh _yes_.” Dee grinned, leaning over and addressing the borrowers directly. “Guess who’s not a secret anymore.”


	8. So...Now What?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How do you possibly proceed when your entire species has been revealed to the world?

“No! No, this…this can’t be happening.” Virgil spoke and turned to Logan. “Logan! You-You can delete the email, r-right? _Please_, tell me you can.” Virgil asked desperately, despite knowing the answer deep down.

Patton looked up at Logan, desperation in his own eyes as well. Now he understood. This was _bad_.

“No, that…that’s not how this works…” Logan’s eyes widened as he tried desperately to figure out a solution. 

“We can call it a prank!” Roman suggested, looking desperate. “Does anyone have any editing skills they can pretend to have?”

“What’s the problem with all this secret business?” Picani asked, realizing how distressed his students were getting but not understanding the full situation.

“It’s a borrower thing,” Thomas explained. “No one is supposed to know about them, it’s how they stay safe and hidden.”

“If-If people knew about us…” Patton started, fidgeting with his sleeves.

“…Then we could have more Dr. Dees on our hands. Other borrowers would be captured and killed, experimented on, or kept as _pets_. We’d be…_enslaved_.” Virgil finished, sliding down into a seated position against Roman’s chest. “We _are_ going to be enslaved.”

“Alright, nobody panic,” Picani instructed. “I’ll simply send out a response indicating the situation and Dee’s trial and-” He paused, hearing another ping. This time Thomas was the one to pull out his phone.

Almost hesitantly, Thomas set the ice pack to the side, feeling all eyes on him as he checked his device. 

“…Remy’s already got a hold of the video.” Thomas announced quietly, seeing the notification. 

“Oh no.” Roman gasped softly, knowing Remy has a _vast_ social media following. Not for the first time Roman wished the Starbucks lover’s follower count was lower. “How many views?”

“It says twenty- oh, wait, the page was refreshing.” Thomas paused. “…one… one hundred. And climbing.”

“That’s…that’s a _lot _of humans…” Patton spoke, shaking in Logan’s hands. Virgil simply stared down at his own hands.

“What are we going to do?” Virgil asked softly.

“I…I don’t know.” Logan admitted.

“Frankly, I’m sorry, but I don’t think there’s anything that can be done.” Picani shook his head sympathetically.

“Oh no, you’re too late.” Dee moved his hands in front of his face, making a fake crying face.

“I’m not too late to smite you where you sit.” Roman stood up, looking ready to vault over the table. 

“Violence isn’t going to solve anything!” Picani hurried to stand up as well, going between the two individuals before a fight could break out in his office.

“It might not solve anything but it would certainly make me feel better,” Virgil growled out. “He just ruined our _entire lives_!” Virgil wished for a moment that whatever force or magic that had made him a human before would turn him to one again just long enough for him to punch Dee in the face himself.

“The best we can do now, gentlemen, is damage control.” Picani insisted sternly. “What’s done is done. If you get your message out first, perhaps you can help influence how the video is received.”

“But what would we even say?” Roman said exasperatedly. “‘Hey, these are borrowers, don’t step on them?’”

“I-I’m scared.” Patton whimpered, curling into himself and Virgil snapped his attention over to him.

“It’s…It’s gonna be o-okay Pat.” Virgil tried to reassure his best friend but he didn’t even believe his own words. He was scared too.

“Don’t lie to him,” Logan said quietly, looking like a broken shell of a man.

“Don’t _lie_ to him?” Roman’s jaw dropped, turning to Logan with disdain. “Yes lie to him! At least allow him these last moments of comfort before his entire people’s existence changes forever.”

Patton shook his head. “No…I don’t want to be lied to…even if it makes me feel better.” Patton admitted, a tear rolling down his cheek. 

Virgil blinked and dropped his head. “…Sorry, Pat.” 

Patton nodded. “Just…just promise me…” Patton looked at the three humans he trusted above all else. “Don’t let us go. Hold onto us tight and don’t let anyone take us away from you again.”

Logan blinked, gazing down at the fragile life held in his hands. “I promise.” He nearly whispered, hoping for once this was a promise he could keep.

“I promise.” Thomas murmured, focus still on his phone. 

“And I promise as well.” Roman agreed, holding Virgil closer and looking at him with as much of a smile as he could manage.

Patton nodded. “Thank you.” Patton took a deep breath. “So, I’m guessing there’s no way for us to delete the video?” Patton asked.

“No,” Picani explained. “We could delete the initial copy, but there is now a copy available within every single email as well as on social media. It would be nearly impossible for any system to delete every instance of the file, and with time it will only spread further.”

“It hasn’t gone viral yet at least.” Thomas pointed out, still dutifully watching the page. “Although some of these comments are downright rude. ‘Where can I get my own?’ Ugh.”

“I wonder if I’ll be able to get another,” Dee commented thoughtfully, gazing off into space.

“Alright, somebody hold Virgil, I’m gonna punch him again,” Roman said, holding Virgil to the side. Thomas put out his palm, barely looking away from the phone screen as he took the borrower.

As Virgil was transferred between hands, he yelled, “Yeah, get him, Roman! Aim for the face!” Virgil was hoping for a knockout this time. It was the least Dee deserved.

“No!” Picani bellowed, turning on his authoritative voice. Dee scooted his chair back for safety, hiding behind Picani like a child behind a parent. 

“Coward.” Roman hissed, rolling up his sleeves. 

“Get out, all of you.” Picani pointed to the door. “I will not tolerate violence here.”

“But- he deserves it!” Roman insisted.

“That is _not_ your judgment call to make,” Picani said sternly, his gaze turning softer. “He will be tried just like every other American citizen. I shall keep him here until the proper authorities arrive. In the meantime, the three of you best head home until you feel more level-headed. When we can once again approach this like rational adults, my door is always open.”

“_My door is always open_,” Roman repeated in a mocking tone. But seeing Picani’s face, he ducked his head and gave an awkward cough. “My apologies. I’ll just be going now.” 

“Thank you for your assistance, professor,” Logan said, even if now it felt as though all their efforts were for naught. 

“Don’t let him escape,” Virgil growled towards Picani. “I don’t care _what _you say, he deserves everything that’s coming to him and _more_.” 

Patton sighed. “Sorry about Virgil but…he_ is_ right.” Honestly, though Patton was not one for revenge or violence himself, he would have loved to see Roman punch Dee in the face again.

The three students walked out of the office, trying not to look too crestfallen. Thomas didn’t even look up from his phone.

“Well, now what?” Roman asked glumly, hands shoved into his pockets.

“I suppose we head home.” Logan shrugged, not having another option. “At this point…the damage is done. Only time shall tell the true consequences of today.”

“How many views does that thing have now, anyway?” Roman asked, glancing over Thomas’s shoulder.

“Let me check,” Thomas said, refreshing the page.

Virgil sighed. “Could we not? It’s kind of depressing to hear how many humans know about us now.” Virgil said, but couldn’t help but look at the Thomas’ phone screen, considering he was still in his hands.

Thomas blinked, surprised when a new message appeared when the screen reloaded. “Uh…guys? The video’s gone.” 

“What?” Roman frowned, not believing the evidence before his very eyes. “What do you mean, gone.”

“I mean, it’s gone!” Thomas refreshed the page just to be sure, but the video was taken down. 

Virgil just stared at the screen with wide eyes. Patton looked over from his spot in Logan’s hands. “That’s…That’s good, right? That means no one else can see it!” Patton exclaimed, a hesitant smile forming on his face.

“That doesn’t make any sense.” Logan shook his head in bewilderment. 

“Yes, that’s good Patton.” Roman nodded, answering the borrower’s question. “It’s- It’s wonderful!”

“You guys are gonna be okay,” Thomas said softly, a small smile forming.

Virgil blinked. They….they were going to be okay? “But what about the hundred humans who already saw it?” Virgil asked, still worried about that.

“Indeed.” Logan frowned, picking up the pace back to their vehicle. “It’s entirely possible someone else saved the video and will upload it themselves.”

“I’ll google it, see if anyone else puts it up.” Thomas offered, happy to be of use. “Roman, could you…?”

“Oh, of course.” Roman took Thomas’ non-verbal cue and took Virgil back into his own hands so Thomas could type. 

Virgil grit his teeth as he settled in Roman’s cupped hands. “We’re definitely not out of trouble yet. The video might be gone but too many people saw it already…it only takes one more person to find a borrower for us to be revealed to the entire world.” Virgil said, looking down. Patton bit his lip, shifting around slightly. Virgil made a good point.

“Maybe people will think it was a joke?” Patton suggested, more hopeful than confident.

“It’s possible, especially given Remy’s usual online content.” Logan mused, peeking out into the parking lot as though expecting someone to ambush them. Luckily they seemed to be the only ones here at the moment. “Although I could hardly say the same of the professors, and that email is still out there.”

“Why would Remy even take it down in the first place?” Roman muttered, mostly to himself. 

“Maybe he had a change of heart?” Patton suggested, once again hopeful. Virgil only snorted in disbelief. Remy had helped Dee kidnap them, after all.

“Maybe…” Roman considered that possibility, climbing into the passenger seat after Thomas clambered into the back.

Logan climbed into the driver’s seat, only now realizing Patton would have to leave his hands. He hesitated, not wanting to let go of Patton after getting him back so soon. 

“I can hold him, Logan.” Roman offered. With a grateful smile, Logan transferred Patton over to Roman’s hands before starting up the car.

Patton scooted closer to Virgil and held his arms open. Virgil took the invitation, hugging Patton close. A lot had happened in the last few hours. And other than being reunited with their friends, none of it had been very good. “And…I know you did what you had to do and all…but can we really trust the other human?” Virgil asked, looking at his friends as he continued to hug Patton.

Roman bit his lip, looking uncertain. The car was tense for a moment.

“…I don’t know.” Logan finally admitted.

“Picani’s nice.” Thomas piped in from the backseat. “I mean, he did help us out already. I’m sure he’ll help us some more.”

“But he was on Dee’s side.” Roman raised an eyebrow.

“He wasn’t on Dee’s side.” Thomas insisted. “He just wouldn’t let you punch him again.”

“Well, he should have.” Roman pouted.

“Regardless, we have to focus on the repercussions moving forwards.” Logan let out a terse sigh. “And the fact of the matter is, I doubt Picani is willing to lie to his entire department on our behalf. If that email still exists and any faculty asks questions, he will answer.”

Virgil groaned, letting go of Patton to place his head in his own hands. “This isn’t good…”

Patton bit his lip. He wanted to say something comforting, but this time he couldn’t think of anything.

“We do seem to be in quite the predicament.” Logan nodded solemnly. The three humans sat in silence, listening to the faint click of the car’s blinker as they turned left.


	9. Maybe It's Time For a Restart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team begin to discuss the idea of leaving town and starting anew.

“Isn’t there some sort of borrower protocol to prevent this?” Roman asked, looking down at his borrower friends.

The borrowers glanced at each other before they both shook their heads. “No. If we’re found, that’s it. End of story. It’s just, before all of this, we’ve been… ‘lucky’ enough that the few humans that have found borrowers never revealed it to anyone else.” Virgil explained. Their kinds luck was really something. But it looked as if it had finally run out.

“But- it can’t possibly be just luck.” Roman insisted. “This is the twenty-first century, there are cameras everywhere. This cannot be the first time a borrower was caught on tape.”

The two borrowers blinked and looked at each other once again, a silent conversation happening. “You…do make a good point,” Patton admitted, suddenly confused.

“But borrowers have never been revealed, before now.” Virgil winced at that. “It…_has_ to be some sort of luck or something, right?” Now Virgil was starting to doubt. But if not luck, what else could it be?

“Maybe it’s never become big news?” Roman offered. “Thomas, can you try and find any articles about borrowers?”

“I’m trying,” Thomas answered, already on it.

“Or perhaps borrowers have been revealed, but then disappeared and were taken for a myth,” Logan suggested. “Many folk tales are inhabited by tiny humanoid figures.”

Both borrowers were shocked at that. “Wait, there are?” Patton asked, eyebrows furrowed.

“Of course!” Roman nodded. “Fairies, brownies, gnomes, elves…well, the tiny elves anyways. They tend to change size.” 

“It’s possible those mystical creatures are based off a rather un-mystical discovery.” Logan reasoned, pulling into the apartment complex.

Virgil hummed in thought. _Could_ those myths be based on his kind? He could never be for sure but it wasn’t a very comforting thought. “So, what? You think this will blow over into some myth or something?” Virgil highly doubted that would happen in this case.

“Oh, no.” Logan’s bluntness instantly dashed all their hopes. “No, this is far more severe than a mere sighting or a bit of film. You have to remember this footage was already distributed to over a dozen scientifically-minded individuals, all with at least a master’s degree under their belt, and the original video still belongs to a psychopath who wants to ruin our lives.”

“…great,” Roman said once he was able to stop gaping at Logan’s lack of tact. “Thanks for the rousing speech, Albert Ein-stink.” He hopped out of the car, rolling his eyes.

“What did I say?” Logan’s brow furrowed, hopping out as well.

The borrowers could only sit there in silence, leaning against each other as support. Everything was gonna change now. Borrowers would be caught and discovered…and it would be all their fault.

“What did you say?” Roman half-laughed, glad they were the only ones in the lobby as they began to make their way upstairs to the apartments. “You just crushed all their hopes and dreams in one fell blow! Thanks for ruining the mood, dr. gloom.”

“I was trying to be reasonable!” Logan argued, taking the stairs two at a time to get ahead and unlock the door.

“No, you were trying to be _smart_.” Roman sneered, walking past Logan and into the living room. “As usual.”

“Roman, don’t,” Patton said quietly. “Please, don’t fight. Not now.” 

Virgil nodded. Their humans fighting was the last thing they needed.

Roman glanced down at the borrowers, feeling guilty all of a sudden. “…sorry.” He apologized, setting them down on the coffee table. 

“Thank you,” Patton said, giving Roman a small smile. Virgil sighed, looking up to find Thomas as he entered the room.

“Have you found anything yet, Thomas?” Virgil asked, impatient and worried.

“No, nothing yet.” Thomas shook his head, still glued to his phone. “I think I’m gonna head downstairs, see if I get any more success on my laptop.”

“We’ll be here,” Roman said with a shrug, watching Thomas walk right back out the door. 

Virgil watched Thomas leave and then sighed as he collapsed on the table and then laid down on his back. “…Our whole kind is screwed.”

Patton couldn’t help but agree with Virgil.

“Well, maybe there is something to that whole myth theory.” Roman hypothesized. “Maybe this will all blow over? Certainly, if nobody finds anything it’ll die out eventually, right?”

“Do you know of any borrowers in the immediate area?” Logan asked, closing the door and kneeling next to Roman.

“No,” Patton answered, seeing as how Virgil was still lying on the table. “Not that we know of. But, then again, we haven’t left this building in about two years. Or have checked the other buildings…there’s really no way for us to know.”

“Is there any way for us to check around?” Roman offered. “We could help you guys scout, maybe warn anybody else.”

“That’s a terrible idea,” Virgil spoke up before Patton could. Virgil sat up so he was sitting. “No one would listen or believe us if we showed up with a pair of humans. Besides, there’s no way we would be able to reach enough of them…”

“I suppose all we can do is hope that their borrower instincts protect them,” Logan admitted. “Though humans may be looking for them, the only true consequence is if they are caught. After all…according to the tape, only the existence of_ two_ borrowers can be proven.” Logan gazed thoughtfully down at said two borrowers.

“Unless they try and gas them out,” Virgil said, causing Patton to gasp. “Or tear down the walls to find them.” Virgil’s mind was working overtime at this point. “And if the government were to get involved, with all their technology and things? We’d be screwed for sure.”

“Okay, well, I seriously doubt the _government_ is going to get involved with a simple pest problem.” Roman rolled his eyes. “But glad to know you think so highly of yourself.”

“Look, let’s think about this logically,” Logan advised. “Borrowers often take up residence in human houses, yes? Not places of business?”

“W-Well, usually but there are some instances where-” Patton started but Virgil cut him off, glaring at Roman.

“I’m sorry, did you just call us _pests_. What the _hell_, Roman?”

Roman’s eyes widened, quickly backpedaling. “No! I mean, well, I didn’t mean it like _that_, it’s just… oh come on, what else would you call it? You’re talking as though people are gonna call an exterminator.”

“And they might! But that doesn’t mean you say it like that!” Virgil huffed, calming down a little. “Humans are going to see us in so many different ways. Pests, pets, _science experiments_. Why _wouldn’t_ the government get involved in the ‘find of the century’.”

“That’s just it, though.” Logan jumped in, stopping Roman from apologizing further. “Borrowers have to actually be _found_. While it is true that humans could go to drastic measures, the individuals who currently possess the footage do not have the authority to search through every household. They would need to gain permission from every individual homeowner, who would, in turn, have to pay the costs of said extraction methods. It’s highly unlikely that a person would be willing to put so many resources towards a chance discovery. It is equivalent to putting your life’s savings into lottery tickets: foolhardy and uncommon in real life.”

Virgil huffed, looking down. “I don’t doubt that humans will find ways. After all, it didn’t take much for the two of _you_ to find _us_.” 

Patton nodded slowly, agreeing with Virgil. “We’ve both seen humans do…a _lot_ to get what they want.”

“That…does lead to my other realization,” Logan admitted. “The only way anyone of those individuals has a sure chance of discovering borrowers is to get their hands on one of you. It’s the only guaranteed source of information and the only way to determine the validity of the tape. At the very least Dee knows our identities, and I would not be surprised if our faces made an appearance in the tape itself.”

Patton felt himself pale. “You think there will be humans coming after us?” Patton asked, not liking the sound of that.

“Most definitely.” Logan nodded gravely.

“Well, what the heck are we supposed to do with that molotov cocktail?” Roman frowned, looking over at Logan quizzically for answers.

Virgil frowned, looking down and fidgeting with his poncho. “Maybe the two of us should…leave. Go off on our own, that way if they come looking here or with you guys, they won’t find us.”

Patton’s eyes widened. “B-But…” Patton started, trailing off.

“Indeed.” Logan sighed. “My thoughts exactly.”

“But you can’t just leave!” Roman’s eyes widened, looking down at his friends. He didn’t want them to leave so soon after meeting them.

“Me neither!” Patton cried. He ran over to be closer to Roman.

“I don’t either,” Virgil admitted, glancing over at Logan. The two of them had just become friends, after all. “But it might be the safest for us.”

“…we could all move.” Roman murmured, almost so quiet that Logan didn’t hear him.

“Roman, don’t be preposterous.” Logan chided.

“I’m not being preposterous!” Roman exclaimed. “Think about it- you can’t stay here anyways. You’ve managed to anger like every head of your department and they’ll all know of your involvement soon enough.”

“That doesn’t mean I should just leave town,” Logan argued.

“If they have to move, we should move.” Roman insisted. “It’s only fair.”

“Yeah! And then we can all be together still!” Patton exclaimed. Virgil bit his lip, looking at Logan.

“Isn’t moving kind of…expensive for humans?” Virgil asked. Not quite knowing how it worked but knowing it did involve money.

“It…can be,” Logan admitted. “Although cost isn’t necessarily a deciding factor here.”

“We can certainly find creative ways to make ends meet.” Roman smiled, clearly indicating his acting talents. “When there’s a will, there’s a way.”

“But would moving cities really work?” Virgil asked, still worried about all this. He _did_ want to stay with his friends but he also feared getting caught by other humans as well.

“It would certainly lower our chance of random encounters, and I doubt many individuals would be so dedicated as to stalk us in the next town over…” Logan began to seriously mull over the possibility.

“Oh my goodness, we could get a house _together_!” Roman gasped, eyes beginning to sparkle with excitement. 

Patton gasped as well. “That would be awesome!” That means they would all be able to hang out together, _all_ the time!

Virgil bit his lip. “…I really do want this to work. I don’t want to leave you guys either.” Virgil said this, mostly directed at Logan.

Logan met Virgil’s gaze, feeling his heart swell slightly.

“I suppose we’re moving then,” Logan said with a slight smile.

“Yes!” Roman pumped the air victoriously with his fist. “Can we get a garden? And a wraparound porch? And one of those porch swings, you know?”

“We’re going for practicality here, Roman.” Logan reminded him gently.

“Yay! This is gonna be great!” Patton exclaimed, right along with Roman. Virgil smiled softly.

“We’re gonna be okay?” Virgil said it in a way that it was almost hard to hear that is was actually a question.

“We’re gonna be okay.” Roman nodded. 

“Now, if this is going to work, we will need to get started on preparations right away.” Logan clasped his hands together.

“Is there anything we can do to help?” Patton asked.

“You two should begin packing all of your belongings,” Logan explained. “If there is anything particularly heavy or cumbersome you wish to bring, Roman and I can prepare a box.”

Virgil nodded. “Sounds good. Pat? Wanna get started on that?” Virgil personally didn’t have a lot of stuff he was gonna take but he knew Patton would probably need that box.

Patton nodded. “Yep! Let’s go!” Patton looked at the humans expectantly.

Roman put his hand down, eager to give his friend a ride. 

“Roman, you should begin packing as well,” Logan instructed.

“I got it, don’t worry.” Roman waved him off.

Patton climbed onto Roman’s hand with a smile while Virgil instead went closer to Logan. His home was here, in Logan’s apartment, after all. It wouldn’t do well for him to go with Roman and Patton.

“Be back later!” Roman smiled, departing with Patton to go home. 

“Care for a ride as well?” Logan raised an eyebrow, offering a hand as Virgil got closer.

“That’d be great,” Virgil said, stepping on. As he settled down, he let out a small chuckle. “Kind of funny all this happened after we made up, huh?”

“Indeed.” Logan agreed as he stood up, walking Virgil back towards the hall. “It seems there’s never going to be a dull moment when the two of us are together.”

“Yeah.” Virgil agreed. Though hopefully, the moments would be more fun once they got away from all this stuff.

“I’ll get to work on house hunting,” Logan said, setting his hand down in the still open hole that was Virgil’s room. “Hopefully by tomorrow morning, I’ll have made some progress.”

“See you tomorrow then,” Virgil said as he hopped down into his home.

Logan nodded in acknowledgment before heading to his bedroom. There was a lot of work to be done. 

***

“Thank you all for coming in on such short notice.” Emile Picani said, gazing out on a sea of familiar faces. Every recipient of the email sat before him. Dee sat in the back, a proud smirk almost permanently plastered to his face. Picani frowned at him. “Now, before we begin, has anyone forwarded the email?”

“Only to my son.” One man answered, gesturing to the teen sat behind him.

“‘Sup.” Remy waved a hand in greeting.

“Yes, I am aware of Remy’s involvement.” Picani sighed. 

“I don’t understand why I’m here.” Remy pointed out. “You already reported my video or whatever.”

“I did not report your video.” Picani shook his head.

“Fine, _someone_ did.” Remy rolled his eyes, going back to his phone. “I get it, whatever, someone’s pissed that I keep trying to put it on the internet.”

“In the future, perhaps it would be best not to share faculty emails with your children.” Picani’s tone was tired, clearly strained from this whole scenario. “Now, has anyone else shared the email?” There was a chorus of head shaking and Picani breathed a sigh of relief. “Good.”

“Was that video…real?” Remy asked, engaging again briefly.

“…well…” Picani seemed a bit unsure for a moment as many eyes looked back at him expectantly.

“Oh yes,” Dee answered for him, eyes turning to the back of the room. Dee gave them a grin. “That’s why I acquired your assistance in the first place, boy.”

“Wait a moment.” The man from earlier turned around, frowning at Remy. “You’re involved in all this?”

“Well….” Remy pushed his sunglasses further up his face, curling in on himself and looking as though he wanted the chair to swallow him whole. “You see dad-”

Before Remy could blubber his way through an explanation, the door at the front of the room opened and two individuals in suits stepped inside.

“Oh good, we’re right on time.” The one in the beanie said, grinning. 

“I’m sorry, this is a private meeting,” Picani explained, furrowing his brows. “Who exactly are you?”

“The name’s Joan, Special Victims Unit Officer.” Joan smiled, shaking Picani’s outstretched hand enthusiastically. “Heard you guys had a run-in with some borrowers!”

“Ah, well, yes, but-” Picani’s eyes widened as a few more suit-clad individuals walked in. The shorter individual with colorful hair that had arrived with Joan was now right in front of him, holding what looked to be a bright white light attached to a rod.

“Alright, sleepy time.” The Agent explained. With a flash of light, Picani blinked, wondering why he was here only briefly before his eyelids fluttered closed.

“Woah, I gotcha.” Joan caught Picani, laying him on the floor. Across the room other agents were doing the same, Remy only putting up a brief fight as his sunglasses had to be removed for the process to work.

“What the _hell_ do you think you’re doing?” Dee hissed, standing up so fast that his chair was flung backwards. Instantly two broad-shouldered Agents restrained him on either side.

“Oh, just your run of the mill memory wipe.” Joan sauntered over to Dee, their partner following. “So, you must be Dee.”

“What, you think you can pick on borrowers just because they’re tiny?” The short individual got up in Dee’s face, looking pissed.

“Easy there, Talyn.” Joan put their arm out to halt Talyn before turning back to Dee. “Heard you’ve been causing a lot of trouble out here. Didn’t anyone tell you the borrower rules? It’s an awfully big secret to keep. But not only did you fail to keep it, you’ve also violated a whole slew of ethics laws as well.”

“I demand to know what’s going on!” Dee roared.

“You’re coming with us because you were a jerk to tinies.” Talyn deadpanned. “Put him in the paddywagon, boys.” The buff Agents gave a nod, dragging a screaming Dee out the door. Talyn noticed that along the way Dee seemed to have dropped his phone. They picked it up, scrolling through the files. 

“Alright, got it.” They confirmed, deleting the file. Looking around the room, other agents had just finished doing the same on the other faculty’s devices.

“Man, what a mess.” Joan groaned. “Why can’t people just mind their own business and leave tiny peeps alone?”

“I mean, we would be out of a job.” Talyn shrugged.

“That’s true.” Joan stretched their arms above their head. “Alright, almost done. Ready to go to the source?”

“Yup.” Talyn nodded, already pulling up the address on their phone as the two headed out to their car.


	10. Oh No, It's the Borrower Cops!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Talyn and Joan are very suspicious of Logan's intentions.

Virgil woke up the next morning, bright and early. He grabbed the bag he had packed the night before, a small bag that didn’t have much in it. He then climbed out of his room and sent one last look down at it. He sighed. He would miss his home but at least he didn’t have to leave his friends behind. 

Speaking of, he heard a bit of shuffling in Logan’s room and waited patiently in the hall, near the wall, for Logan to come out.

“Good morning, Virgil.” Logan greeted, hiding a yawn behind one hand as he emerged, having not slept long. Logan knelt down, offering Virgil a hand. “Breakfast?”

“Sounds great,” Virgil said, climbing onto the offered hand. 

Logan stood up, stepping carefully over the hole in the floorboards. His landlord wouldn’t thank him for that, but at this point, it felt as though trying to repair it himself would just be foolhardy. Logan made his way to the kitchen, setting Virgil down on the counter. 

“Coffee?” Logan offered, already starting up the pot.

Virgil tilted his head, looking at the strange thing Logan was setting up. Of course, he had seen it many times before but never when it was on. He had no idea what it did or what coffee even was. “What’s coffee?”

“Oh, right.” Sometimes Logan forgot just how different Virgil was from himself. “Well, it’s a caffeinated beverage that can provide energy to the drinker. Quite addicting, but very useful for staying awake.”

“Oh, then um, yeah, I guess I’ll try it,” Virgil said with a shrug. He could use the extra energy for the move.

Logan nodded, popping in some toast as well for a more filling breakfast. Once the pot beeped, Logan took it out and poured a mug for himself, setting it down next to Virgil so that the borrower could get some as well.

Virgil took out his tinfoil cup and scooped a bit out. He blew on it before taking a taste. The bitterness was unlike anything he had ever tasted before and it was almost too much. But Virgil found that he almost sort of liked it? Kind of? “It’s…interesting.”

“It’s bitter, but it’s more for a specific function than necessary pleasure.” Logan lifted the mug to his lips, taking a sip of his own. The toaster dinged, and Logan put the two pieces of toast on a plate. He pulled a jar of crofter’s jam from the fridge, beginning to spread it on one slice. “Do you want jam on yours? Or another condiment?”

“Jam’s fine,” Virgil said, taking another sip of the coffee. He was already starting to get used to is. And he could feel himself being more awake than before. Weird, but cool.

Logan put Jam on the second slice as well, taking his own piece in hand before sliding the whole plate closer to Virgil.

“I found a few possibilities for a new residency,” Logan explained, taking a bite. “I suggested to Roman via text the four of us go scope them out today.”

Virgil nodded as he ripped a piece of toast off and took a bite. He hummed at the flavor of the jam. No wonder Logan liked it so much. 

“…I wish we didn’t have to do this.” He said after a few moments of silence.

Logan glanced at his smaller companion, then at the apartment around them. “It certainly is not ideal.” Logan agreed quietly. “But, certainly preferable to any other outcomes.”

“I can agree with you on that,” Virgil said, taking another bite of his food. He wanted to be as far away from Dee and any other humans that now knew about him.

“How are you feeling, by the way?” Logan asked, having never fully gotten a rundown of Virgil’s injuries. He certainly looked different, if only due to his new haircut.

Feeling Logan’s eyes on it, he ran a hand through his hair. “I’m fine. I didn’t get much other than this haircut and a few bruises from his grip.” Virgil shivered as he remembered being wrapped in those fingers. “I think Patton got it worse. Dee…Dee seemed to take a lot of blood out of him.” Virgil couldn’t help but feel guilty about that since it should have been him that had blood drawn from.

“I see.” Logan frowned, noting this in the back of his brain. He would have to help keep an eye on Patton for any abnormal behavior and suggest methods to ease Patton’s recovery. 

As Logan pondered this, there was a knocking at the front door.

Virgil snapped his head over to the door. “You think that’s Roman and Patton or…?” Virgil bit his lip, worried that it could be Dee or another human looking for them.

“I’m not sure.” Logan set his mug on the counter, approaching the door cautiously. He peeked through the peephole, eyes widening when he saw an unfamiliar figure. Turning back to the kitchen, Logan gave a motion for Virgil to hide.

Virgil tensed and quickly hid behind the coffee pot, heart racing. He barely dared to breathe as he listened.

“Can I help you?” Logan asked, quite on edge and barely opening the door. With the door open, Logan could see there was actually three individuals on his doorstep. One was Thomas, who looked almost as confused as himself. The next was a suited individual with colorful hair, standing to Thomas’ right. The final individual was right in front of Logan, wearing a bright orange beanie and the same suit as the other.

“The name’s Joan, Special Victims Unit Officer.” The individual leaned closer, grinning and sticking out their hand. “Hi, how ya doin’?”

Logan slowly reached out his own hand. “Logan Sanders.”

“Oh, we know who you are.” Joan shook his hand eagerly. “You’re harboring a borrower, aren’t ‘cha?”

Virgil tensed, shaking as the unfamiliar voice confirmed they knew he was there. And did he say something about an officer? Had Virgil been right? Had the government gotten involved and was looking for them? Virgil felt panic start to seize at his heart and mind.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Logan quickly pulled his hand back, ready to shut the door, but Thomas’ voice stopped him.

“They saw the tapes, Logan.” Thomas shifted on his feet. “I…I think they’re here to help.”

“What?” Logan frowned. 

“We’re a very _special_ Special Victims Task unit,” Joan explained. “We deal with any crimes involving borrowers.”

“Including covering up whenever someone screws up and tries to expose them to the world.” The other suited member finally spoke up.

“Oh, that’s Talyn by the way,” Joan explained, pointing to their partner who gave a wave.

“I think we can trust them.” Thomas insisted.

“I like this guy, he gets it.” Joan nodded, jabbing a thumb at Thomas. 

“How do I know this isn’t some elaborate ruse?” Logan squinted at them.

“Well, if we really wanted to get in there, we could just wipe your memory and push right past.” Talyn got closer, standing on their tiptoes to look Logan in the eye. “But we’re trying to be civil here, so do the right thing and let us in.”

Virgil shook as he fell to a seated position up against the pot. He didn’t care if they were here to ‘help’ or not, he didn’t want any other humans around him. But he had a feeling this encounter was going to happen whether he liked it or not.

“Wiping a memory is not actually possible,” Logan observed. Talyn frowned at him, pulling out some sort of rod and holding it in front of his face.

“Wanna bet?” They threatened.

“Okay, let’s _not_ do that,” Joan advised, pushing the rod back down. “Not at least until we’ve found Virgil.” Joan now pushed back Logan, into the apartment. Talyn walked inside with a glare at Logan, and Thomas followed. 

“They came to my apartment first,” Thomas explained. “They asked where you guys were.”

“And why did you tell them?” Logan spoke out of the corner of his mouth, looking peeved.

“I couldn’t lie to a federal officer!” Thomas insisted. “Besides, I really think they can help us. They’re the ones that took down Remy’s video.”

“…what?” Logan looked at the agents in a new light.

“Yup, that was my doing.” Talyn looked proud of themselves. 

Joan cupped their hands around their mouth. “Virgil! Where are ya, buddy?”

They knew his name?! Like _hell _Virgil was going to come out to their calling. He stayed where he was, hoping Logan or even Thomas would get to him first. Anyone but these other humans.

“…he’s in the kitchen,” Logan admitted, and immediately Talyn whirled on him.

“How _dare_ you.” Talyn hissed. “What, you think you can help us just because you’re human?”

“I, ah, yes?” Logan took a step back, thoroughly confused. 

“It’s all part of borrowing etiquette 101,” Joan explained, pulling out a book. “It’s considered an act of disrespect to out a borrower. A borrower should be in control of when and to whom they are revealed.”

“Oh.” Logan glanced at the book, feeling both sheepish and intrigued. “May I see that?” 

“Sure thing!” Joan nodded, handing it over. Logan began to leaf through the pages.

“…I’ll go get Virgil.” Thomas offered, heading towards the kitchen. 

“_No_ grabbing.” Talyn insisted.

“Yup, already knew that one.” Thomas nodded, giving them a brief look before leaving the room. He looked around the counter, not spotting the borrower.

“Virgil?” Thomas whispered, coming closer to it.

“Thomas?” Virgil stood up on shaky legs, revealing himself as he walked out into the open. He had been listening the entire time and while he was slightly mad at Logan for revealing where he was, what the agents said only confused him. Were they actually here to help? It couldn’t be that though, right?

“It’s me.” Thomas smiled, laying down his palm for Virgil. “Uh, there’s some people here who want to see you but um, I think they might actually want to help?”

Virgil bit his lip and after several moments of hesitation, he got onto the offered hand. “…Just don’t let them take me.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got you,” Thomas promised, bringing Virgil close to his chest. He held the borrower there protectively, putting his extra hand up as well.

“Ah, there you are.” Joan’s volume decreased slightly but their tone did not, a sure sign they were trying to be easy but not condescending on Virgil’s ears. “Virgil, it is an honor to meet you. My name is agent Joan, and this is my partner agent Talyn. We are here to help you.”

Virgil shifted more into Thomas, looking at the new humans warily. “…How?” He asked hesitantly.

“We help relocate borrowers whose identity has been compromised,” Talyn explained, coming over as well. “We wipe human’s memory of you and find a new suitable borrowing home far away from the incident for an extra layer of precaution. Of course, if you prefer there’s also a borrower base back home in Area 51 where some of our old borrower friends have built a community.”

Virgil blinked. “There…is? H-How many times has this happened?” 

“Quite often.” Joan nodded sadly. “Modern surveillance systems aren’t exactly borrower-friendly.”

“Oh.” Virgil looked down. The thought was sad but if these humans actually helped them… “And _why_ do you help borrowers? Why haven’t you revealed our existence and made us pets or science experiments or whatnot…unless you_ do_ perform tests on my kind and this is some sort of ruse to get me to come back with you so you can do that to me!” Virgil’s breath became erratic as the thought sent him into a panic.

“Okay, y’know? Perfectly valid questions.” Joan put up their hands in surrender, taking a step back. “It may sound strange, but not all humans are _actually_ evil. Talyn and I actually found borrowers ourselves when we were younger, but unlike what’s going on here we actually treat borrowers as people.”

“Wait a second.” Thomas frowned. “We treat Virgil like a person.” 

“Sure you do.” Talyn squinted suspiciously at him.

“_Rule number 33_.” Logan recited, still diligently reading. “_Prolonged hand-holding is to be kept to a minimum, and only for as long as necessary. Lingering is considered an offense as you are limiting the borrower’s freedom through manipulation of an act of kindness._”

“…oh.” Thomas glanced down at his hands, realizing how long he had been holding Virgil. He moved over to the coffee table, setting Virgil down on it sheepishly. “I’m sorry Virgil, I didn’t mean to.”

Virgil blinked. “No, Thomas, you’re fine.” He glanced at the book Logan was reading. It was a great rule, of course, but not at this moment. Virgil was perfectly comfortable with his human friends holding him for a while. As long as they put him down when he wanted to be put down, of course. Which they were usually good at doing. He turned towards the agents. 

“I do know that not _all_ humans are bad, just most of them,” Virgil explained. “Because Thomas is right. He, Logan and Roman all treat us like people.” Well, of course, not at first. But they were in a good place now. 

Talyn sat down next to the coffee table, leaning in and speaking in a hushed tone. “Are you just saying that?” They asked. “We know it can feel like you have no escape, but that’s why we’re here. You don’t have to stay captured by these humans any longer.”

“Hey, we wouldn’t do that!” Thomas exclaimed, before remembering the time Logan had indeed put them in a cage. He winced, looking at Logan. “Er, anymore that is.” 

Logan’s fingers tightened around the pages slightly, clearly overhearing their conversation.

“We can erase their memories as well,” Joan explained, coming over to sit next to Talyn. “If you think you will ever have any trouble with them, even just in the future, say the word and we zap ‘em.”

Virgil’s eyes widened. “No!” He yelled, hating the thought. His friends had come so far, especially Logan! All that learning going down the drain would just be awful. “They’re my friends and I won’t let you erase their memories! Or take me away from them!” Virgil yelled, taking a step away from the two agents.

Talyn and Joan blinked, looking at each other briefly.

“Oh, so this is one of _those_ cases.” Joan nodded in understanding.

“We’re not gonna take you away from your friends,” Talyn said earnestly. “We just wanted to make sure you were actually alright.”

“And, y’know, not being held against your will.” Joan shrugged. 

“…Oh,” Virgil said, a little embarrassed by his outburst now. “Well, thank you for that.” He supposed these agents really _were_ doing some good and helpful things for borrowers. They were even listening to him.

“Also thank you for not erasing our minds,” Thomas said feebly.

“Indeed.” Logan nodded in agreement, looking perturbed as he closed the book. The idea of losing any of his memories was quite troubling.

“Well, then, in that case, we’ll just get to work rehousing all of you,” Joan said, standing up.

“We were actually already planning on moving out to the next town over,” Logan explained.

“You were?” Thomas furrowed his eyebrows, having not been informed of this.

“…we meant to tell you.” Logan gave a half-hearted shrug.

“Where’s Patton?” Talyn asked, looking around.

“He should be with Roman,” Virgil said, not feeling bad about revealing that information now that he knew they were here to help.

“Alright, let’s go get them then.” Talyn stood up. 

“_Rule 72_.” Logan recited. “_All borrowers should be involved in discussions pertaining to life-changing events such as a move or a reveal, so as to give every borrower a voice_.” 

“You catch on fast,” Joan noted. 

“Can I see the book?” Thomas asked, looking eager. 

“By all means.” Logan gave it to Thomas, then set his palm down for Virgil.

Virgil got onto the hand without hesitation, once again looking up at the book Thomas now held. “Who made that?” He asked to Joan and Talyn.

“A couple of agents back in the 50’s made the original,” Joan explained as the group migrated upstairs. “But the newest copy was compiled by yours truly.”

“With yours truly helping.” Talyn piped up, looking proud.

“Huh. Well…it seems like a really helpful book.” Virgil complimented.

“It comes in handy.” Talyn nodded.

Joan paused once they had reached the front door, knocking on it.


	11. Looks Like Everything Turned Out Okay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter where you can all breathe a sigh of relief.

Roman looked up from his breakfast. “Well now who could that be?” He pondered aloud. Usually, Logan texted before coming over.

Patton paused, looking in the direction of the door from his spot on the table. “You don’t think it’s a human looking for me, do you?”

“I don’t know…” Roman frowned. “But we should probably hide you, just in case.”

Patton nodded, looking around the table but saw that it was empty. He looked back up at Roman. “A little help?” He asked sheepishly.

Roman chuckled, putting down his palm for Patton even as another knock sounded at the door.

“What’s taking them so long?” Logan murmured.

“They probably don’t know it’s us,” Virgil spoke from Logan’s hand. “Maybe try calling him or something?”

Patton got onto Roman’s hand, waiting to be moved.

“Oh, right.” Logan pulled out his phone. 

Just as Roman was going to put Patton down on the counter, his phone rang. “Hello?” He said, answering it.

“Roman, we’re outside,” Logan explained.

“Oh!” Roman hung up the phone. “It’s just Logan,” Roman explained, walking over to the door.

Patton let out a sigh of relief. “Oh, well that’s good!” He had been worried there for a second.

Roman opened the door, only to see three familiar faces and two not-so-familiar ones.

“What’s going on?!” Roman asked, quickly trying to shield Patton and looking at his friends frantically. Had they no regard for the borrower rules? 

“It’s okay, Roman.” Logan quickly assured him. “They’re here to help.”

“Wh-What?” Patton asked, moving more into Roman. He caught eyes with Virgil and Virgil nodded.

“Don’t worry Pat. Everything is fine.” Virgil reassured and well, if Virgil was saying that about two strange humans than Patton had to believe him. 

“May we come in?” Joan stepped forwards, and with a slow nod, Roman let all of them into his living room. 

“I ask again, what is going on?” Roman looked between their faces.

“These are agents Joan and Talyn,” Logan explained. 

“Hi.” Joan waved.

“They deal with relocating borrowers and have offered us assistance.” Logan continued.

“What kind of assistance?” Roman asked.

“Financial, mostly.” Talyn shrugged. “In this case at least. We also do memory wipes but we’ve been told that’s unnecessary, although we would like to fact check that with Patton.”

Patton’s eyes widened, confused. “Huh?” Virgil turned back to Patton.

“They’re asking if it would be better to erase Logan, Roman and Thomas’ memories of us,” Virgil explained and Patton’s eyes widened in a panic. 

“No! No, please don’t.”

“You’re sure you’re not being held against your will?” Talyn pressed.

“And your agreement isn’t just a manifestation of your attachment to Virgil and his choices?” Joan continued.

Patton shook his head. “Roman, Logan, and Thomas have become great friends of mine. I don’t want them to forget about me. Or leave them!”

“Works for me.” Talyn nodded with a smile.

“Hold on a moment, you were going to erase our memories?” Roman balked. “How rude!” 

“We do what we need to do to respect borrowers,” Joan explained, taking note of how long Roman had been holding Patton.

“Rule 33,” Thomas commented, noticing as well.

“Hey, you’re learning fast, newbie.” Talyn joked, elbowing Thomas playfully.

“Huh? Rule?” Patton asked, still confused. Virgil remembered what that rule was and turned to Patton.

“That’s a rule about not holding a borrower for long periods of time,” Virgil explained.

“Oh! But wait, what does that rule have to do with anything?” Patton asked, not fully realizing how long Roman had been holding him. Or, like Virgil, probably not caring as well.

“According to the rulebook, our current behavior is considered ‘rude’.” Logan explained, adjusting his glasses.

“What rulebook?” Roman gaufed.

Thomas gestured with the book he was still reading. “_This_ rulebook.” 

“I suggest you put Patton down,” Logan advised, rolling his eyes at the way Talyn was still looking at him. He set Virgil down on the coffee table. “Are you satisfied?”

“Quite.” Talyn gave a nod.

“Oh, this is ridiculous.” Roman groaned, but he put Patton down as well.

Patton blinked as he was set down along with Virgil and looked up at all the humans. “You didn’t need to put me down,” Patton said, sending a quick glance over at Virgil. Virgil just shrugged.

At Patton’s words Roman perked up, ready to pick him up again, but with a glance from Talyn, he sighed.

“Now, let’s go over the particulars,” Joan said, pulling out their laptop. “What sort of features would you like your new house to possess?”

“Well-” Roman was interrupted before he even began.

“I was talking to the borrowers,” Joan explained. Roman let out an offended princey noise.

Both borrowers blinked, looking at each other. “You’re asking us?” Patton asked, kind of amazed. 

“Well, of course.” Joan nodded. “You’re the main reason we’re here, after all. I mean, your friends can come too but you’re the ones who need relocation.”

“We want them there,” Virgil said. Patton nodded in agreement.

“Yeah and, I mean, we just need a regular house. We don’t really need anything special.” Patton added.

“Other borrowers have suggested things such as a smaller floor plan, heated floors, built-in tunnels….” Talyn listed them off on their fingers. “Or something as simple as a single-story building.”

“Do any of those appeal to you?” Joan asked, typing away on their computer.

The borrowers shared a glance once again. “One story would be nice,” Virgil said and Patton nodded.

“Yeah, but it also has to be big enough for all of us!” He motioned towards his three human friends.

“A three-bedroom, 1st-floor house.” Joan murmured, typing it in. “Might be a little hard to find, but I’m sure we can manage.”

“Some of you might need to share a room,” Talyn explained, looking between the other humans gathered around the table. 

“Fine by me.” Roman shrugged. In fact, the idea of a roommate was rather exciting.

“I’ll manage.” Logan nodded as well.

“…hold up.” Thomas closed the book, only now fully entering the conversation. “Since when am I moving too?”

Patton frowned, blinking in confusion. “Did you not…_want_ to move with us?” Patton asked. Virgil raised an eyebrow at Thomas.

“Well, I mean, I guess I hadn’t really thought about it.” Thomas shrugged. “I still have classes here and my other friends…”

“We get it, you’re popular.” Roman rolled his eyes. 

“Thomas, you are under no legal pressure to relocate,” Talyn assured him.

“Oh good.” Thomas let out a small sigh of relief.

“However do know that if you stay we will have to erase your memory,” Joan admitted.

Patton’s eyes widened. “No! You can’t!”

“Yeah, it’s not like he’s going to tell anyone!” Virgil argued, having trust in Thomas.

“I’m sorry, it’s just protocol,” Joan explained, looking apologetic. “If it was just him we wouldn’t have a problem, but he’ll be around a whole crowd of individuals who were recently wiped. We can’t risk reviving their memories.”

Thomas looked down at the borrowers. There was no way he wanted to forget them; not after everything that happened.

“I…guess I’m moving then,” Thomas said, sounding almost like he was in a daze.

Patton frowned, he didn’t want Thomas to move if he didn’t want to. But he also didn’t want him to forget everything either. And apparently, neither did Thomas. He looked towards the agents. “There isn’t any other option?”

“Nope.” Joan shook their head. “If you find a borrower and we find out about it, there are only two outcomes: rehabilitation and re-memorization.”

“Or you’re us.” Talyn reminded them. “And you get to join the best team this side of the Bermuda triangle.”

“Heyooo!” Joan whooped, raising their hand and meeting Talyn for a resounding high-five.

Thomas looked down at the book in his hands, then back at them. “That’s an option?”

“Oh, ah, that was really more of a joke…” Talyn said sheepishly, rubbing their neck.

“How does one become an agent, then?” Logan asked, looking intrigued.

“Oh, there’s a whole orientation process.” Joan gave a wave of his hand. “Lots of paperwork, that sort of stuff. It’s kind of on a need-to-know basis.”

“What kind of paperwork?” Logan pressed.

“And what if we need to know?” Thomas leaned forwards.

Virgil looked at Logan. He would be fine if only Thomas was interested in the whole agent thing but…not Logan. He didn’t want Logan to leave him. 

“Wait, you _all_ want to become agents?” Talyn said incredulously.

“Ah, not me.” Roman raised his hand. “You lost me at paperwork.”

“Thomas, I thought you wanted to stay here?” Joan frowned.

“Well, I mean, I did.” Thomas bit his lip. “But really, I just want to help people…and if I’m given the opportunity to do that, I think I wanna take it.”

“What about you, Logan?” Joan turned to him.

“Frankly this whole business has alienated me from biology as a study entirely,” Logan explained. “If I plan to switch life paths so drastically anyways, I may as well put my skills to good use.”

“…maybe.” Joan seemed to consider it. “But that’s a discussion for another time. Let’s focus on relocating you guys, and then we can talk about any big career plans.”

“Satisfactory.” Logan nodded while Thomas gave them a grin and a thumbs-up.

In the end, it took only two weeks before the group was moving into the new house. Joan and Talyn helped instruct them on the best ways to move borrower furniture, making sure that none of it was broken in the move. The house was a quaint little home two towns over, single story with two bedrooms. For the time being Roman and Thomas decided to share, and they were unpacking their belongings accordingly. Patton sat nearby, watching from a safe distance.

“You still thinking about joining Joan and Talyn?” Roman commented, hanging up one of his musical posters. 

“A little,” Thomas admitted, tucking the sheets onto his bed. “It just…it feels_ right,_ you know? Have you ever had that feeling?”

“Of course.” Roman shrugged. “It’s how I knew I was destined for theatre.”

“Patton, what do you think?” Thomas asked, turning to the borrower.

Patton kicked his legs, smiling at Thomas. “If you want to do it, I say go for it! I think it’s so cool that anyone wants to help out borrowers.”

“Thanks, Patton.” Thomas smiled back at him. “I think…I think I will.”

Of course, the next room over, not everyone was so encouraging.

“Virgil, I cannot read your mind.” Logan pointed out, stacking books on his shelf while the borrower sat moping on his new desk. “If you’re irritated with me you need to tell me why.”

Virgil grumbled before turning to Logan. “I just don’t get why you’re even…considering it.”

“Why would I not consider it?” Logan raised an eyebrow. “It’s a generous opportunity and would allow me to use my skills for good.”

“I mean, yeah, but…” Virgil didn’t know how to say it without sounding stupid and needy. “You…You would have to leave.” The _me _went left unspoken.

Logan paused in his task. “It seems overall my presence amongst you all has been a detriment.” He said softly. “At least there I wouldn’t cause so much trouble and could make up for my mistakes.”

Virgil blinked, shooting to his feet. “Logan no! I-I…” Ugh, Logan was gonna make him say it. “_I_ don’t want you to leave,” Virgil said quietly. “We’ve both made mistakes and caused trouble and all that crap but we’re better now! _You’re_ better now.” Virgil looked down. “And if you left I would miss you too much.”

Logan looked over at Virgil, visibly confused now. “You would?”

“_Yes_.” Virgil practically cried before taking a deep breath. “Things have changed. Logan, I _trust_ you. And yeah, maybe this is a great opportunity, I get it. But…I don’t know, maybe I’m just being selfish…” Virgil looked away, his insecurities and anxiety getting in the way. 

“I- no Virgil, you’re not being selfish.” Logan came over to sit on the edge of the bed closest to the desk. “Your feelings are perfectly valid. Truth be told I’ve grown fond of you as well; it’s part of why I was considering leaving, I didn’t want to cause you any more pain.”

Virgil let out a little chuckle. “Well, hate to break it to you but you leaving would cause me quite a bit of pain.” Virgil paused for a moment. “I mean, you’d be leaving me with sunshine and dramatic prince to deal with all by myself, how dare you,” Virgil said.

“Oh, the horror.” Logan’s eyes widened in fake shock. “How dare I even consider such treachery.” He chuckled to himself, once again turning serious. “Virgil, if my presence really means that much to you I promise not to leave.”

Virgil smiled. “Thanks, L. You staying _does_ mean a lot.” Virgil thought for a moment, another chuckle escaping him.

“It’s amazing to think I used to _want_ to get away from you and now I don’t want you to leave.” Virgil found the irony funny in this case.

“Indeed.” Logan nodded in agreement, hardly able to remember what he had been thinking when they originally met. He felt like a completely different person now. He gazed around the bedroom. “Though I’m amazed by the change, it’s certainly a welcome one.”

“More than welcome, I’d say,” Virgil said, a slight smirk on his face. “I mean, Pat and I have got it pretty good here with some great friends and a nice house. And everyone who used to know about us can no longer remember. I say things are…really great.” Virgil’s smile turned soft. 

“It will take some readjusting, but yes.” Logan smiled back. “I think this will do quite nicely.”

***

That night, everyone gathered in the new kitchen, enjoying sweets and beverages as they celebrated Thomas’ choice…as well as Logan’s lack of a choice.

“A toast!” Joan lifted their glass of apple juice. “To our newest recruit, Thomas!”

“To Thomas!” The others repeated, all taking sips of their own drinks.

“Thomas, you are amazing,” Joan said, swinging their arm around Thomas’ shoulders. “You are one of the coolest, smartest, kindest, handsomest men I have ever met.”

“Aww, thanks, Joan,” Thomas said with a laugh.

“I knew you had it in you!” Talyn came over, swinging their arm around Thomas as well. “So glad to have you on our team.”

“Group hug!” Thomas declared, pulling them both into one big hug with all three of them giggling. The three seemed to only grow closer with each moment they spent together, and it was clear to everyone involved that this was indeed where Thomas belonged. 

“Well, he seems happy,” Roman noted to Patton who sat nearby, feeling almost a guilty wave of relief.

“I know! I’m so proud of him!” Patton exclaimed, looking at Thomas with a wide grin.

“…uh huh.” Roman rolled his eyes, taking another sip from his solo cup.

Patton turned to look a Roman, eyebrows furrowed. “Roman? Is something wrong?”

Roman almost spit his drink back out in surprise, realizing he hadn’t been exactly ‘subtle’. 

“Oh, ah, it’s nothing!” Roman quickly grinned at him, forcing a smile.

Patton frowned and suddenly he remembered all the times Roman was acting weird before. He glanced at Thomas and then back and Roman and he blinked in realization. “Roman, are you…have you been jealous of Thomas?”

“Whaaaaaat?” Roman laughed awkwardly, rubbing at the back of his neck. “Me? _Jealous_? Of Thomas?” At this point a few others had sent him glances as well, his act not fooling anyone.

Patton frowned. “Why would you be jealous of Thomas?” Patton asked, really confused.

Roman sent a glance at Thomas. “Can we…talk about this in private?” Roman asked, setting his palm down for Patton.

Patton nodded and climbed into the hand.

Roman left the chattering of the party behind, going to his bedroom. Now that Thomas was moving right back out, it seemed there was an extra bed just for Patton. Roman laid down on this mattress, setting Patton down on an extra pillow. 

“…it’s stupid.” Roman sighed, knowing after all this time it was a bit petty.

Patton’s eyebrows furrowed. “What?”

“It’s just…” Roman let out another sigh, this one ruffling Patton’s hair. “Okay, remember back when I first ‘rescued’ you guys from Logan, but you still wanted to go with Logan instead of me?”

Patton winced at that but nodded. “But what does that have to do with Thomas?”

“Well, then that whole weird switching bodies thing happened, and you and I became close.” Roman continued. “And I got really excited because I thought it was going to be just the two of us. But then Thomas started coming around and I was like ‘okay, I can deal, the more the merrier’. Guess it’s you, me and Thomas.” Roman seemed to deflate, sinking his chin into the pillow between his arms. “But…then it started to become just you and Thomas.”

“Oh Roman…” Patton looked sad. “You felt left out, didn’t you?”

“You kept choosing him over me.” Roman nodded, not meeting Patton’s gaze. “And I tried not to be affected by it, I really did, because I saw how much fun the two of you were having. But I know Thomas has lots of friends and I’ve never really _had_ a best friend before and I thought maybe that was you….but then you kept choosing everybody else over me. And it _sucked_.”

Patton came over to Roman and placed a hand on Roman’s hand. “I’m sorry if I made you feel that way,” Patton said softly. “I never meant to choose anyone over anybody. I just wanted to hang out with everyone!”

“I know.” Roman gave him a half-smile, shifting his hand to hold Patton’s own between his fingers. “That’s why I didn’t say anything before. I didn’t want you to feel forced to hang out with me, I already tried to manipulate you to do that enough when we first met.” Roman cringed at the memory. “You deserved to have great friends like Thomas.”

“I deserve to have a great friend like _you_ too,” Patton spoke. “I _want_ to hang out with you, I really do. I’m not sorry for hanging out with Thomas but I am sorry that I didn’t notice your feelings sooner.”

“It’s alright,” Roman assured him. “And I mean, hey, at least with Thomas off doing his new gig we’ll have plenty of time to hang out, right?”

Patton nodded. “Yeah! I’ll miss him but it’ll be nice to hang out with just the two of us!” Patton smiled and Roman and came closer to hug his face.

“I’m looking forward to it.” Roman chuckled, bringing his hand up to hug Patton as well. He closed his eyes, enjoying the contact a moment longer.

A few moments later, Patton pulled away. “Now come on! Let’s head back to the party! We’ve got some celebration to celebrate!” Patton giggled.

“Okay, okay.” Roman agreed, putting his palm down for Patton. 

Patton climbed on but instead of sitting, he hugged Roman’s thumb. “And Roman?”

“Yes?” Roman lifted Patton higher, standing up to his full height.

Patton grinned. “You’re my best friend.”

Roman froze, feeling as though this might be some sort of dream. “Really?” Roman gasped, his eyes lighting up.

Patton nodded. “No doubt about it!”

Suddenly overcome with pride, Roman nearly sprinted back into the kitchen.

“Patton’s my best friend!” He announced excitedly. All heads turned to him.

“…ah, good for you?” Logan tilted his head, confused. 

Patton giggled. “Roman!” 

Virgil turned towards them, raising an eyebrow at Roman’s words. But he just shrugged. 

“This calls for another toast!” Joan said, raising their glass.

“To new, and old, friendships.” Thomas agreed, looking between all his friends.

“To friendship!” Talyn seconded, raising their glass high. They looked at the others expectantly.

“Oh, are we all doing one?” Logan asked, glancing around. 

“To new beginnings!” Roman cheered, raising his glass high.

“To family!” Patton cheered, raising up his tinfoil cup.

“….to second chances,” Logan said, smiling softly at Virgil.

Virgil smiled back before realizing that it was _his_ turn. “Oh uh…to…good health?” Virgil tried.

“Oh come on, I’m sure you can do better than that.” Roman encouraged him.

Virgil huffed but racked his brain for something. “Uh…to our home?”

“To our home!” Roman agreed, taking a swig of his drink.

“And to a new perspective!” Joan declared. “And a different perspective, another perspective, a third perspective-!”

“Okay, now you’re just spouting nonsense.” Talyn chuckled.

“And a Thomas perspective!” Thomas cheered, pulling his friends close.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, we hope you enjoyed this installment of the Perspective Series! This wraps up our little trilogy so the next story will be set in a completely unconnected universe, but feel free to tell us what you thought of this story/AU in the comments below!


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